Warsash Extinction Rebellion campaigner guilty of obstructing highway in a pink bath tub

AN EXTINCTION Rebellion campaigner who chained herself to a pink bath tub near a motorway has been found guilty of obstructing a highway.
Extinction Rebellion activist Imogen Phillips from WarsashExtinction Rebellion activist Imogen Phillips from Warsash
Extinction Rebellion activist Imogen Phillips from Warsash

Warsash activist Imogen Phillips, 20, was involved in the protests in Bristol in July and chained herself with three others to a pink bath tub using a system of tubes, carabiners and metal chains.

The disruption near the M32 at Bristol lasted more than eight hours.

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She was filmed, along with others walking onto Newfoundland Street, at the junction with Temple Way, at just before 7am on Wednesday, July 17.

Extinction Rebellion activist Imogen Phillips from WarsashExtinction Rebellion activist Imogen Phillips from Warsash
Extinction Rebellion activist Imogen Phillips from Warsash

On September 18 she was found guilty of obstructing a highway following a trial at Bristol Magistrates’ Court alongside Christelle Blunden, 37, of Tremona Road in Southampton; Elliot Cuciurean, 21 from Dorset Avenue in Cheltenham, and Timothy Miller, 37, of Imperial Avenue in Southampton.

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All four were given a 12-month conditional discharge and told to pay court costs between £180 and £250.

Chief Inspector Mark Runacres, from Avon & Somerset police, said: ‘The deliberate actions of these protesters directly led to lengthy delays on the M32, causing major disruption to the public.

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‘Throughout the Extinction Rebellion protests in July, our intention was to work with the organisers to allow peaceful and lawful protests to take place, but we were very clear on what we would not tolerate. The action they took on Wednesday July 17 crossed the line and we took immediate action.

‘We had to call on specialist police resources and equipment to remove the protesters from the bath tub and this operation lasted around four hours.

‘The true cost to members of the public caught up in the resulting disruption will never be known. However, it’s inevitable that action like this has the potential to result in unforeseen consequences which can have a significant impact on people’s lives.’