Man, 21, chained himself to bath in Extinction Rebellion protest
AYOUNG man from Cheltenham who chained himself to a bathtub on a major road in Bristol causing hours of disruption, along with a group of fellow protesters, has been found guilty of obstructing a highway.
Elliott Cuciurean, 21, believed to be the first climate activist successfully prosecuted over the Extinction Rebellion protests in London, was again arrested and taken to court over protests carried out on July 17.
On the day he was arrested, the group were filmed walking onto Newfoundland Street in Bristol city centre, at the junction with Temple Way at the end of the M32, just before 7am.
They chained themselves to a pink bathtub using a system of tubes, carabiners and metal chains and had to be freed by a specialist protest removal team.
The disruption lasted for more than eight hours.
Cuciurean, of Dorset Avenue in Cheltenham, was found guilty of obstructing a highway following a trial at Bristol Magistrates’ Court, along with Imogen Phillips, 20, of Warsash in Southampton; Christelle Blunden, 37, of Tremona Road in Southampton and Timothy Miller, 37, of Imperial Avenue in Southampton.
All four were given a 12-month conditional discharge on September 19 and told to pay court costs between £180 and £250.
Chief Inspector Mark Runacres said: “The deliberate actions of these protesters directly led to lengthy delays on the M32, causing major disruption to the public.
“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 bathtub 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.”
Eight people previously found guilty of obstructing a highway following trials on September 9 and 11 were also sentenced. They had glued themselves to the road and bathtub during the same protest.
All were also given 12-month conditional discharges and told to pay court costs. Others sentenced were:
» Helen Miller, 42, of Imperial Avenue, Southampton
» John Boxshall, 51, of Lower Church Road, Weston-super-mare
» Sue Jones, 54, of Creech St Michael, Taunton
» Madeleine Wakeling, 22, of Ham Street, Glastonbury
» Theo Garfath-gibelin, 24, of no fixed address » Klaudia Van Gool, 54, of Cornwall
» Melanie Phelps, 55, of Beach Road, Kewstoke
» Ben Misrahi, 23, of West End, Stroud Two others, Michael Jones, 54, of Harberton, Totnes and Jane Augsburger, 54, of Summer Street, Stroud admitted the offence of obstructing a highway and received an 11-month conditional discharge.
They were also told to pay court costs.