Police dismantle Occupy London camp February 28, 2012 -- Updated 0224 GMT (1024 HKT) Police evict Occupy protesters from London campsite Protesters have been there since October 15 last year McNern said the tents are being crushed in garbage trucks The raid follows a failed appeal against an eviction order (CNN) -- Hundreds of police, some in riot gear, staged an early morning raid to clear Occupy protesters from a campsite outside London's St Paul's Cathedral, activists say. Occupy London supporter Ronan McNern told CNN the activists received no warning of the raid which was carried out around 2 a.m. local time (GMT) in London. McNern said hundreds of protesters and their supporters were in the area, with many being prevented from accessing the site by police cordons. Inside the cordon, McNern said the police were tearing down the tents and disposing them in waiting garbage trucks. "You can hear them being crushed, which is quite horrible," he said. The protests have been camping on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral since October 15 last year as part of the worldwide Occupy movement. Occupy protesters have been rallying against corporate greed and economic inequality, calling for a fairer society for all. Last week, activists lost an appeal against an eviction order filed by the City of London Corporation, the body that runs London's financial district. Many of the tents were on what the corporation designates as a public road. "Peaceful protest is a democratic right, but the camp is clearly in breach of highway and planning law," said Stuart Fraser, policy chairman for the City of London Corporation said last week.