There has been a decline in the number of people supporting shale gas extraction, new government figures reveal.

According to DECC’s latest ‘Public Attitudes Tracker’, just under a quarter of people (24%) said they support fracking – a reduction from 29% in March this year and 28% in December 2013.

Similarly, nearly a quarter of people (24%) are now against fracking, up from 22% in March and 21% in December last year.

However, nearly half of people said they neither support nor oppose shale gas development despite an increase in the level of awareness. Three quarters of the public said they are now aware of shale gas, up from just over half last year.

The figures are however in stark contrast to a survey published yesterday, which claimed 57% of people are now in favour of fracking.

DECC also found renewable energy sources continued to receive “high levels of support”, with more than three quarters of adults saying they supported the use of green energy.

But the public’s views on nuclear energy continue to be “broadly split”. The survey found a decline in support for nuclear energy in the UK (36%) compared to March this year (42%). However there is little change to what was found in June last year (37%), suggesting a “seasonal effect”, DECC said.