Shale gas fracking will go ahead in Britain for the first time since 2011 after a judge dismissed safety concerns.

Cuadrilla, the fracking firm, defeated activists in an eleventh hour High Court battle and said it may begin fracking at its Lancashire site as soon as Saturday.

It cleared the final hurdle facing its shale gas plans since earthquake fears brought the burgeoning industry to a halt seven years ago.

The temporary injunction against Cuadrilla’s fracking plans will fall away after the High Court rejected a bid by an anti-fracking campaigner to block the work, saying there is “no evidence” that the fracking poses more than a “medium risk”.

Within hours of the verdict anti-fracking groups took to social media to call for shale opponents to gather at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site.

Frack Free Lancashire warned its members to arrive at the site as soon as Friday evening or early on Saturday morning to “show them why we are opposed to this here or anywhere”.

The UK is thought to hold vast untapped reserves shale gas within layers of underground rock formations.