• Airmyn
• Asselby
• Barlby
• Barmby on the Marsh
• Blacktoft
• Bubwith
• Carlton
• Cowick
• Drax
• Elvington
• Foggathorpe
• Gilberdyke
• Goole
• Gowdall
• Great Heck
• Hemingbrough
• Holme on Spalding Moor
• Hook
• Howden
• Kilpin
• Market Weighton
• Moorends
• Newport
• North Cave
• North Duffield
• Rawcliffe
• Reedness
• Sandholme
• Seaton Ross
• Selby
• Snaith
• Spaldington
• Swinefleet
• Thorne
• Wheldrake
• Wressle

Prison threat for train protesters

Environmental protests staged on a coal train heading to Drax power station caused losses of nearly £200,000 to the companies affected, Selby court heard on Monday.

In June a freight train carrying hundreds of tonnes of fuel to be burned at the power plant was boarded by a group of people operating under the Camp for Climate Change banner.

Twenty-eight of the 29 people who were arrested during the incident appeared before a district judge this week. Each faced a single charge of trespassing on the railway and obstructing a train.

Drax itself reported that action taken by activists, who at the time said they were demonstrating against the extensive use of coal to generate electricity, cost the firm £53,600.

Train operator EWS said it lost £41,770 and Network Rail claimed that subsequent delays caused to 29 freight trains and 35 passenger trains cost £100,000.

It was pointed out that the incident had also had an impact on the public purse due to police officers being drafted to the West Bank area of Selby district from forces around the country.

In a packed Selby courtroom some of the defendants helped bring chairs from elsewhere in the building so they could all be seated and dealt with in one hearing.

All stood to confirm their name, age and address to District Judge Fred Rutherford before the charge was read out.

The defendants then indicated their plea - 17 said they were not guilty and 11 did not enter a plea. One defendant was absent from the hearing.

After hearing an outline of the offence, Judge Rutherford said he felt the charges were so serious they had to be dealt with at crown court. Anyone found guilty of the offence faces a maximum sentence of two years in jail.

The group accused of obstructing the train comprises 19 males and 10 females, ranging in age from 21 to 52 years old, and from all parts of Britain, including Glasgow, Cardigan, London, Manchester and Leeds.

They are now due to appear at York magistrates' court on October 7, where they will be committed to York Crown Court.

Before the hearing a supporter of the defendants was stopped from unveiling a banner denouncing the use of coal for the generation of electricity outside Selby court.

Published on 21st August 2008 in News.

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