Protesters shut Essex fuel depot for 40 hours, court hears

The twelve people on trial were arrested during protests in April

Environmental protesters shut down a fuel storage terminal for about 40 hours, a court has heard.

Chelmsford Magistrates' Court was told activists scaled a 7ft (2.1m) fence at the Exolum station in Thurrock, Essex, before chaining themselves to pipework.

They accessed the site, which includes 51 storage tanks carrying as much as 310,000 cubic metres of oil, in April.

Twelve people from the group Just Stop Oil denied "obstructing or disrupting a person engaged in a lawful activity".

"It is Europe's largest terminal for the storage and transportation of liquid products and fuels and one of the largest in the world," prosecutor Ms Samantha Lowther said.

"They scaled the fence and climbed structures despite being asked to leave".

The court heard that protesters entered the terminal, in London Road, at 06:40 BST on Sunday, 11 April.

Ms Lowther said some of the defendants chained themselves to pipework that was 10ft (3m) high, using "D-lock type locks".

She said 100 emergency service personnel were called.

The court was read evidence from various arresting police officers.

Two defendants both answered "unless we speak to the government and get things changed" when asked if they would come down, and another asked "to get me an interview with the Prime Minister", the court heard.

Operations did not resume at the site until 21:45 on Monday, 11 April, it was said.

'Environmental impact'

Mark O'Neill, the UK and Ireland Country Manager for Exolum, told the court: "We shut down all activities, we removed all tankers that were there from the bays and we de-pressured pipelines to reduce the risk of a leak."

Hundreds of people were arrested for activity at Thurrock in April, with demonstrations taking place at refineries across the country over the course of two weeks.

Mr O'Neill said Exolum did not suffer any financial loss as a result of the action, but that the terminal exports up to nine million litres of fuel per day, so hundreds of thousands of vehicles would have been affected.

He admitted that he was not aware of any of his staff being "harmed or intimidated" during the protest.

Both defence lawyers repeatedly asked Mr O'Neill if he knew the extent of carbon emissions caused by the terminal at Thurrock and what the company was doing to minimise the impact on the environment.

Standing trial are Stephanie Aylett, 28, Louis Hawkins, 22, Hannah Hunt, 23, and Eben Lazarus, 22, all of no fixed abode, as well as Cressida Gethin, 20, of Dorstone, Hereford; Peter Bailey, 67, of Willow Lane, Lancaster; Rosalind Bird, 38, of Stanley Chase, Bristol; Nathan McGovern, 22, Arcadian Gardens, Haringey, North London; Mitchell White, 22, of Highbrook Close, Brighton; John Sasak, 32, of Bucklawren Road, Looe, Cornwall; Rosa Sharkey, 22, of Chase Avenue, Enfield; and James Skeet, 34, of Drayton Street, Manchester.

The trial is scheduled to last three days.