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BRITAIN'S TOP CLIMBER IN NEWBURY COURT
27 June 1996
Britain's top climber, Ben Moon, is in Newbury Magistrates Court on Friday 28 June at 10 am to be sentenced for Obstructing an Officer of the Court(Section 10 of the Criminal Law Act 1977) during tree evictions on the route of the Newbury bypass.
Ben Moon and fellow climber Steve Coates (both based in Sheffield) pleaded guilty to the charge at an earlier court appearance but now face a "Newton hearing" - effectively a trial of the facts - because the serious allegations of the prosecution and the defences version of events differ so widely. The outcome of the hearing will determine the sentence. During the previous court case the Stipendiary Magistrate warned that if the prosecution were believed a custodial sentence may be considered.
Ben and Steve were arrested on 13 March 1996 after thwarting the attempts of bailiffs to remove them from trees at the Gotan camp (near Snelsmore) for the best part of a day. They were originally charged with violent disorder but this was later dropped.
Ben Moon and Steve Coates were just two of dozens of climbers from all over the country who joined protesters in defending the trees at Newbury partly as a reaction to the employment of fellow climbers as specialist climbing' Bailiffs.
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Sep 2008
