Euston anti-HS2 tunnel protest: Dr Larch Maxey denies trespassing
- Published
Dr Larch Maxey was released on conditional bail ahead of a trial in July
An anti-HS2 activist who spent almost a month underground in a network of manmade tunnels near Euston station has denied aggravated trespass.
Dr Larch Maxey was removed by bailiffs on Monday after going underground on 26 January to protest against the high-speed railway line.
He appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court and is also accused of criminal damage and obstructing bailiffs in his eviction.
The 48-year-old denied all charges.
Dr Maxey became the fifth campaigner to leave the tunnels, after a 16-year-old boy did so last Wednesday, having spent 22 days underground.
Lazer Sandford, 20, Scott Breen, 46, and a 17-year-old female protester have also ended their protest.
The network of tunnels was revealed by the BBC on 26 January
Dan Hooper, known as Swampy, Isla Sandford, known as Blue, and two other protesters referred to in court papers as Nemo and Bradley remain in the tunnels.
The court heard Dr Maxey, of Denham, Buckinghamshire, is accused of trespassing and disrupting HS2 construction work at Euston Square Gardens by refusing to leave a tunnel under the site between 27 January and 22 February.
He is also alleged to have damaged a mobile phone, belonging to Vision Limited, at the site between 17 February and 19 February.
Isla Sandford, known as Blue, (left) is one of the protesters still inside the network of tunnels
Dr Maxey is further accused of trespassing on a separate HS2 site on Hampstead Road between 6 October and 11 October last year and disrupting work by climbing a tree and refusing to come down.
He was granted bail on the condition he does not interfere with the workings at any HS2 construction site and observes a curfew at an address in south London between 23:00 GMT and 07:00.
A crowd of supporters standing outside the court cheered as he exited the building shortly after his hearing.
He is next due to appear on 14 July for trial.
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