Protestors convicted in dairy blockade trial

Six people have been convicted following a blockade of a Muller dairy site in Worcestershire.

In September 2022, activists from the group Animal Rebellion blocked the dairy in Droitwich as part of a campaign to transition to a plant-based food system.

Protestors climbed onto trucks, milk silos and loading bays, while some glued themselves to the ground and chained themselves to fences.

The six convicted people, and a seventh who pleaded guilty at an earlier date, will be sentenced in February. Offences included causing a public nuisance and conspiracy to commit criminal damage.

Muller plants in Gloucestershire and Somerset were also targeted, as was Arla's milk factory in Buckinghamshire.

At Worcester Crown Court on Thursday, Ben Pattison, 31, of Sunderland, Ash Faulkner, 32, of no fixed abode, Lawrence Smith, 33, of Manchester, Yves Tchapda, 29, also of Manchester, and Sarah McCaffery, 21, of Glassford, Strathaven, were found guilty of intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance.

Pattison, Faulkner, Smith, Tchapda, and Kat Chan, 23, of Glasgow, were also convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage.

McCaffery and Chan were convicted of having an article with intent to destroy or damage property.

All six, along with Jack Flemming, 27, who earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit criminal damage, will be sentenced on 7 February 2025.

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