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Protesters jailed for £2m road tunnel damage

Essex Police Just Stop Oil protesters wearing branded tops being arrested by police while standing on the street.Essex Police
Members of Just Stop Oil took part in protests over what they claim is governmental inaction over climate change

Four protesters have been jailed after digging tunnels under roads and taking part in a 13-day occupation.

The activists, from Just Stop Oil, targeted roads around industrial estates in Thurrock, Essex, and nearby docks, in August 2022.

Four men were jailed for public nuisance offences at Basildon Crown Court on Friday - and a woman was also handed a suspended sentence.

Essex Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Nolan said: "We believe the financial impact on the local area is more than £2m due to the huge number of those affected."

Essex Police A composite image showing four men, all wearing police custody issue grey sweatshirts, from left to right showing Chris Bennett, Joe Howlett Larch Maxey and Samuel JohnsonEssex Police
[From left to right] Chris Bennett, Joe Howlett, Larch Maxey and Samuel Johnson were jailed after being found guilty of public nuisance offences

St Clements Way, Oliver Close, Oliver Road and Stoneness Road were all affected in the protest and travel was disrupted, added a police spokesperson.

The climate activists ended a 13-day occupation of a tunnel dug under St Clements Way in Grays on 4 September 2022.

Members of the group, who pleaded not guilty, were given the following sentences:

  • Larch Maxey, 52, of Macleod Street, Walworth, London, was jailed for three years having been found guilty of intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance
  • Samuel Johnson, 41, of Keens Lane, Reydon, Suffolk, was jailed for 18 months for intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance and criminal damage
  • Chris Bennett, 33, of Fishponds Road, Bristol, was jailed for 18 months in for intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance
  • Joe Howlett, 34, of Kilmersdon, Radstock, Somerset, was jailed for 15 months for intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance and criminal damage
  • Alice Wharrie, also known as Autumn Sunshine Wharrie, 62, of Churchill Road in Horley, Surrey, was given a 12-month suspended sentence for intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance - and must carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

ACC Nolan said after sentencing: “This group put themselves and so many others in danger with their reckless actions."

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