Brothers plead not guilty to strike crash charges

The brothers face charges relating to picket line crash outside Sellafield

Two brothers have denied driving offences at Crown Court after a man was badly hurt at a picket line outside a nuclear facility.

Craig Fawcett, 51, is accused of causing serious injury to a man by driving a Polaris Ranger vehicle on 17 September outside Sellafield in Cumbria.

Albert Darren Fawcett, 52, faces a charge which alleges that he drove an Isuzu Truck dangerously on the same date on the same stretch of road from Sellafield to Seascale.

Appearing at Carlisle Crown Court earlier, the brothers pleaded not guilty to the respective charges and their trial has been scheduled for 15 March 2027.

At the time, several people were manning a picket line linked to several days of industrial action by construction staff at Sellafield during a pay dispute.

A 55-year-old man was seriously injured and a second man, 39, also went to hospital with minor injuries.

Craig Fawcett, of Seascale Hall, Seascale, and Albert Darren Fawcett, of Whynncop, Gosforth, are now due to stand trial in front of a jury at the court.

The hearing is due to start in March and currently has an estimated time of about six days.

The brothers were granted unconditional bail.