Factory staff feared for lives in break-in - court

Protesters accused of causing £1.2m worth of damage at a factory made employees fear for their lives, a trial has heard.

The group wrongly thought Teledyne Labtech at Presteigne, Powys, made circuit boards for Israeli drones which killed Palestinians, a jury heard.

Ruth Hogg, 39, of Stanley Road, Aberystwyth, is on trial at Caernarfon Crown Court charged with conspiring to damage property on 9 December last year.

Two other women and a man have been charged with the same offence.

The jury was told that the factory last made the boards for Israel in 2009, with these used for mobile phone towers.

Elen Owen, prosecuting, said Teledyne Labtech made printed circuit boards for various uses including MRI scanners, commercial aircraft, satellites and military radar.

There were 64 staff employed at the factory.

Machine operator Anthony Harris said in evidence that he and several colleagues had been drinking coffee on the morning of the break-in when they heard glass smashing.

It was pitch black and police were called, he said.

He added he saw two intruders wearing boiler suits and balaclavas, armed with a sledgehammer and a metal crowbar.

Red paint was sprayed from what looked like a fire extinguisher, covering machinery, walls and the floor, Mr Harris said, adding he felt a “bit nervous.”

“The amount of damage being done I didn’t think I was going to have a job,” he said.

"You don’t know what other weapons they have got on them.”

Smoke canisters were let off, the jury was told, leaving sticky orange particles.

A protester had claimed the workers were “killing Palestinians”, the jury heard.

Another factory worker, Mark Watkins, said: ”I feared for my life.”

The trial continues.