David Cameron is losing the battle for public opinion over fracking for shale gas because of high-profile public protests against the controversial technique, polling suggests.

The latest results of a long-running survey on British attitudes towards shale gas, undertaken by YouGov and commissioned by the University of Nottingham, show an increase in the number of people opposed to fracking and a decrease in those in favour for the second time since protests at Balcombe in West Sussex last August.

The slide in support comes despite several major speeches by the prime minister in support of shale gas over the same period, including last week's address to the World Economic Forum in Davos where he said the UK needed to "embrace the opportunities of shale gas" even though he understood "the concerns some people have".

Public support for fracking steadily grew from June 2012 to a high of 58% in favour and just 18% against in July 2013, when asked the question: "should shale gas extraction in the UK be allowed?". But after the protests against an oil-drilling site run by Cuadrilla at Balcombe – which saw several thousand people marching and dozens of arrests including that of Green MP, Caroline Lucas – the number in favour fell in September to 55% and has dropped again this month to 53%. Opposition has also risen, to 24% in September and 27% this month.

Sarah O'Hara, pro vice-chancellor and professor of geography at the University of Nottingham, said: "After a prolonged period when the UK public appeared to be warming to shale gas, that opinion is shifting in the opposite direction, with the apparent turn against fracking for shale gas continuing."

Lawrence Carter, climate campaigner at Greenpeace, said of the new polling: "David Cameron appears to have lost his knack for PR. After a concerted push from the prime minister to sell shale gas to the public, including financial bungs to local councils, his net return is that fewer people support fracking. It is time he listened to the voices of local communities and abandoned his plans to industrialise our countryside with this dirty, risky and controversial practice and instead backed the home insulation programmes and clean energy sources that can tackle rising bills and protect the environment."

Anti-fracking protests have taken place across the country, from Lancashire to the East Midlands and Sussex. Campaigners cite concerns over the impact on water supplies, climate change and the flaring and trucks that accompany the process, which uses water, sand and chemicals pumped at high pressure underground to fracture shale rocks and release gas.

Protesters targeting a drilling site run by IGas at Barton Moss in Salford have been camped out for two months now, leading to dozens of arrests, mostly for obstructing a highway. Local MP Barbara Keeley said the "the policing costs are much, much higher than anything that comes back" and Greater Manchester police say policing the protests has cost more than £330,000.

An image depicting the British prime minister, David Cameron, is held by a protester during a rally at the former test drill site operated by Cuadrilla Resources in Balcombe. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

Owen Paterson, the environment secretary, admitted to a Lords committee on Tuesday that anti-fracking activists were winning the battle for public opinion. "There is a large problem with public opinion. Those who are opposed have made all the running... We are behind the curve. These opponents have been getting a lot of media coverage, they get a lot of television coverage. They wear exciting clothes, they have exciting banners, they have easy quick slogans. A lot of the stuff has been misleading, but they have made the running."

There has been a concerted push by ministers to encourage backing for shale gas. David Cameron earlier this month announced that in addition to communities receiving money for living near shale gas wells, local authorities would keep 100% of business rates from fracking projects rather than the usual 50%, a move condemned as "bribes" by critics.

On Monday, the climate minister, Greg Barker, said environmentalists should back shale gas because it had lower carbon emissions than coal power, which it can displace. "The kneejerk reactions to fracking is [based on] ideology, it's not science-based," he said. Lord Deben, the chairman of the UK's climate advisory committee and a former environment minister, recently told the Guardian that those who condemn fracking as extremely damaging are taking a "nonsensical position."

A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said: "Shale gas has the potential to create growth, jobs and energy security and we are promoting safe exploration that protects the environment. This should not be undermined by campaigns of misinformation. We are also committed to working with communities to make sure that shale exploration happens in partnership with local people and that they see the benefits."

But the University of Nottingham polling also suggests most people agree with the view that payments to communities living near shale gas wells are "bribes", with 57% saying they believed the compensation was "to get the community's support for fracking in their area" and almost nine in 10 saying the payments were not being paid for the benefit of the community.

Prof Matthew Humphrey from the school of political and international relations and co-author of the report, said: "The public is getting strong messages from protest groups about the dangers of fracking and an equally strong message from the government about the benefits it will bring in terms of secure and affordable energy. The trends seem to show that neither side has won the argument yet."