A MAN has been jailed for trespass at Trawsfynydd nuclear power plant.

The decommissioned plant was forced into lockdown after Nicolas Luke Bates, 29, entered the restricted site on 16 March earlier this year, a court has heard.

More than 100 staff were put on high alert after Bates, who had drugs and a knife in his posession, was spotted on the roof of a reactor building.

Security officers at the Trawsfynydd nuclear power station site saw Bates on the roof and, when they challenged him, he told them he thought the site was closed and derelict and he was just taking pictures.

Bates admitted a charge of trespass on a protected site when he appeared before Caernarfon Magistrates Court.

He also admitted two charges of possessing knives and illegal drugs and motoring offences.

District Judge Gwyn Jones jailed, Bates of Faseman Avenue, Coventry for 26 weeks.

In addition the judge disqualified him from driving for nine months and ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of £115.

The knives and a photo memory card will be forfeited and the drugs destroyed, the judge said.

Bates admitted possession of a knife and also admitted having no licence to drive the vehicle which was uninsured.

The court heard Bates had climbed over a six-foot fence which had “keep out” signs prominently displayed and had entered a restricted area which required the wearing of specialist clothing.

When arrested, Bates told police he had not seen the signs.

He added he used the lock-knife to cut his way into derelict sites where he would take photographs. Bates claimed the drugs were for his personal use and accepted he had driven the vehicle from the West Midlands to Trawsfynydd.

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