Trial for climate change protesters

SIX climate change protesters – two from the Westcountry – have pleaded not guilty to offences linked with a road-blocking stunt in central London.

Three women and three men have been charged with wilful obstruction of the highway over a demonstration in Cromwell Road, Kensington, on October 19.

The defendants spoke only to confirm their names and addresses during a short plea hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on

Wednesday.

They are Stephen Jarvis, 66, from Devon; Lora Johnson, 38, from Southwold in Suffolk; Benjamin Larsen, 25, from Cheshire; Anna Retallack, 58, from Cornwall; Ben Sansam, 38, from Bristol; and Sheila Shatford, 67, from Bristol. They will return to the same court on April 4 for a two-day trial.