PLANS to begin drilling for gas using a controversial method that was blamed for an earthquake in a seaside resort has been given the green light in Scotland for the first time.

The process of fracking led to tremors in Blackpool and along parts of the Lancashire coast after it dislodged geological layers in the Earth’s crust.

Now an energy firm has been granted a licence by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) to extract gas trapped in coal near the mining village of Canonbie in Dumfries and Galloway.

The area has been chosen because it is rich in minerals and built on a quartz bed.

Greenpark Energy, based in Berwick-upon-Tweed, is believed to be planning to tap into gas trapped in 400,000 tonnes of coal which was once mined near the village, and is reported to have already carried out testing by drilling boreholes.

It comes despite concern over earthquakes caused by the fracking -- or hydraulic fracturing -- at an offshore plant near Blackpool. An independent report last week concluded it was “highly probable” that the method was the cause of earth tremors which hit the Lancashire coast in April and May.

The quakes measured 2.3 and 1.4 on the Richter scale, and oil and gas firm Cuadrilla Resources later admitted they have caused 50 quakes in the area in eight months.

Fracking sees a mixture of sand, water and chemicals pumped under high pressure into coal beds to create small cracks. When the pumping stops, the sand keeps the fractures open and trapped gas escapes and is collected. It is said to be a cleaner, cheaper and abundant form of energy.

However, it has also been linked to water contamination, with protest groups claiming it has even caused high enough levels of methane in water that it can be set alight as it comes out of taps in the US, where the technique is commonly used.

Friends of the Earth Scotland have said it is a “worry” that a licence has been granted and said locals “should be alarmed”.

But people living nearby appear unconcerned.

James Fleming, chairman of Canon-bie Community Council, told The Herald: “I don’t think that worry has been raised in the council so far. It’s a scheme which seems to be going ahead.”

Vice-chairman Douglas Findlay said: “There’s not a whisper of worry and everybody knows about it. They’ve done the test boring. The drilling they’ve done is about a mile from the village -- at Blackpool it was offshore. No one’s worried.”

Sepa principal policy officer Malcolm Roberts, said: “I don’t associate the risks with fracking as being any more significant than a lot of things we do. They are not high-risk provided they are done properly.”

Greenpark Energy was unavailable for comment yesterday. It has reportedly lodged a second application to use the method at another site.

A spokesman said earlier: “We are neither drilling nor fracking in Scotland at the moment.”

Friends of the Earth Scotland want the technique banned. Campaigner Mary Church said: “The findings of this report add to an increasing list of the devastating impacts of fracking. The emissions from fracking could be even higher than from coal. The Scottish Government should place an immediate ban on fracking until the industry can prove the process is safe and the climate change implications are fully understood.”