RAF Waddington protest 'to protect people'

The End The Drone Wars group is opposed to the use of armed drones, known as Reapers, which operate from the RAF Waddington base

One of four people charged with criminal damage after allegedly cutting a wire and entering an RAF base said she did it to "protect people".

The End The Drone Wars protesters were arrested at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire in January during a protest over the use of armed drones.

Appearing at Lincoln Magistrates' Court, one defendant said they jointly cut the wire on the perimeter fence.

However, all four deny causing criminal damage.

The campaigners took photographs of themselves inside the base

The court heard how the protesters, from Oxford, Nottingham, Leicester and Coventry, had been seen by police at the south end of the runway wearing hi-visibility jackets and holding banners.

Officers then discovered a section of the base's perimeter fence had been cut.

One of the defendants, Penelope Walker, of Leicester, told the court the group had not intended to cause anyone any harm.

She admitted it had been her plan to close down the RAF base in the hope it would prevent future air strikes.

She said their actions were about trying to "protect people" who were being injured and killed by drones.

Her comments were echoed by Katharina Karcher, who said she had been thinking about "morals and ethics" when she embarked on what she described as "an unconventional form of protest".

The defendants appeared outside court holding an anti-drone banner

But prosecution barrister Paul Wood said: "It is very improbable that such actions would have prevented the use of a drone and that a reasonable way to express such opinions would be to complain to the proper authorities."

The Reapers, which have hi-tech sensors and laser-guided weapons, are based in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria but are controlled by military staff at the Lincolnshire base.

The four defendants, who are also charged with obstructing a person engaged in a lawful activity, are:

• Christopher Cole, 51, of Wilkins Road, Oxford

• Gary Eagling, 52, of Bakewell Drive, Nottingham

• Katharina Karcher, 30, of Stoneystanton Road, Coventry

• Penelope Walker, 64, of Gotham Street, Leicester

The trial continues.