THREE Machynlleth people who were facing jail for taking part in a climate change protest which disrupted flights at Heathrow airport have been spared a prison term by a judge today.
Thirteen members of the Plane Stupid lobby group, which included Machynlleth campaigners Kara Moses, 32, Rebecca Sanderson, 28, and Richard Hawkins, 32, were each sentenced to six weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.
District Judge Deborah Wright at Willesden Magistrates’ Court spared them jail after considering for nearly three hours.
When news of the non-custodial sentences reached protesters outside the courtroom, loud cheers erupted and echoed through the building.
Kara Moses told the Cambrian News on Monday that she was "prepared to for the worst" and willing to go to jail for the cause she believes in.
Seven men and six women cut holes in security fences and crept onto the north runway in the early hours of the morning last 13 July.
They chained themselves to a purpose built structure and to each other before police arrived to arrest them.
Their actions caused ’astronomical costs’ and disruption for thousands of passengers, with 25 flights cancelled.
The protestors claimed their actions were reasonable as they were acting as part of protest group Plane Stupid’s campaign against climate change.
Prosecutor Robert Short earlier said costs had run up to £14,000 and asked for £1,000 from each defendant.
The judge was earlier told that most of the defendants would be unable to pay any financial penalty, as some were unemployed and others were earning as little as £3,000 a year.
Judge Wright ordered Sanderson, Hawkins, Basto, Thompson, Strickland, and Pafford to pay £1,000 costs each. She ordered Menon, Thacker, Kaye, Tamlit, Sender, Gilbert and Moses pay £500 costs each. And the defendants were told not go within five metres of the perimeter fence at Heathrow or within 500 metres of any terminal building.
They were also ordered to complete 120 hours unpaid work, while Graham Thompson and Robert Basto must complete 180 hours.