Olympian Etienne Stott and others cleared of oil tanker protest charge

Former Team GB athlete Etienne Stott (centre) and his co-accused Amy Rugg-Easey, 32, Nichola Andersen, 50, Erika Curren, 65, and Shaun Davies, 32, have been cleared of tampering with an oil tanker

Olympic gold-winning canoeist Etienne Stott and four other climate protesters have been cleared of tampering with an oil tanker.

The Extinction Rebellion protesters glued themselves to parts of a Shell tanker as it left a petrol station in Paddington, west London, on 16 April.

They were in court facing one count each of tampering with a motor vehicle.

District Judge John Zani ruled they had not bonded themselves to the vehicle cab but the trailer attached to it.

He made the ruling following legal deliberations about the meaning of a motor vehicle and how an oil tanker differs from a horse box or a train carrying coal.

The former Team GB athlete, 43, and his co-accused Amy Rugg-Easey, 32, Nichola Andersen, 50, Erika Curren, 65, and Shaun Davies, 32, had to be removed by police "de-bonding" experts following the demonstration.

Who was glued to what?

Westminster Magistrates' Court heard Romario Lee-Gordon was trying to drive the empty tanker out of the petrol station at about 08:45BST when two people, who were not part of the trial, stopped in front of the vehicle and unfurled a banner.

Mr Stott, who is from Nottingham, and Ms Rugg-Easey then climbed on top of it and also unfurled a banner, Ms Andersen glued herself to the side of the trailer section and Ms Curren glued herself to a rear wheel, the court heard.

Police were called at about 10:00 BST but Mr Davies snuck into a cordon and glued himself to a pipe under the trailer, while Ms Andersen and Ms Curren moved and glued themselves to the trailer's rear, the hearing was told.

A "de-bonding" team arrived and removed those three defendants, but Mr Stott and Ms Rugg-Easey were still walking around on top of the vehicle making statements about climate change, the court heard.

The pair glued their hands to a bar on top of the trailer section but were eventually bought down by police with a specialist crane and a special frame.

Prosecutor Jonathan Bryan said the Olympian and Ms Rugg-Easey "did not want to come down" and argued they had "affected the ability of the tanker to move", adding: "If you glue yourself to the wheel of a vehicle it cannot move and that is tampering with it."

But District Judge Zani clear all five defendants of tampering with a motor vehicle, saying they had not bonded themselves to the vehicle itself but its trailer.

The court was told the petrol station lost about £8,000 in sales when it closed during the protest.

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