Jail for man in M1 gantry protest

A MAN who climbed a gantry on the M1 bringing part of the motorway to a standstill for 28 hours has been jailed.

Police said Nicholas Muton, of no fixed address, was staging a protest when he climbed above the southbound carriageway of the motorway in Leicestershire on June 12 and refused to leave for more than a day.

The road was closed southbound between junctions 23a to 22 while police dealt with the 45-year-old.

He appeared at Leicester Crown Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance and was jailed for two years.

Leicestershire Police assistant chief constable Phil Kay said: “The incident caused gridlock in the areas around the closure and a massive inconvenience to motorists throughout the UK. Many tens of thousands of people were seriously inconvenienced as a result of this incident.”