Insulate Britain eco zealots ‘delayed ambulance by nearly an HOUR’ as it tried to race to suspected heart attack
INSULATE Britain protestors caused an ambulance to be delayed by nearly an hour as it raced towards a suspected heart attack victim.
Climate protesters repeatedly brought the M25 to a standstill last September, and the full impact of their actions emerged in court yesterday.
On September 15, the eco zealots blocked the motorway at Junction 25 between 08:11 and 11:46.
This caused a blockage of 3,952 vehicles with a loss of over 5,000 driving hours at a whopping financial cost of £83,452.
Three people admitted causing a public nuisance, the court heard.
Prosecutor David Earl told Stratford magistrates' court that an ambulance was 55 minutes late to a chest pain emergency callout while a funeral director was 30 minutes late to a funeral.
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Referring to an earlier protest on September 13 on the M25, Mr Earl said: "The duration was between 08:43 and 11:41. It is estimated that 42,970 vehicles were affected with 1,449 vehicle hours lost and it is calculated that the financial impact was £62,669.
"There is evidence of impact to the public. A woman, who was two hours late to visit her 95-year-old mother who had a fall while she was waiting; a tutor of special needs students and other teachers who were delayed in attending work and disruption was caused to students of those lessons.
"There was also a pilot who missed his flight to Gibraltar which had to be rescheduled."
Sue Spencer-Longhurst, 69, along with Michelle Charlesworth, 55, and Meredith Williams, 51, admitted two counts of causing a public nuisance.
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Spencer-Longhurst, a retired primary school teacher and potter, said in a statement: "I am truly sorry for the disruption caused.
"I am not a dangerous radical but I am very scared when I consider our children's futures and the future of all living things on the planet."
All three will return to Stratford Magistrates' Court for sentencing on May 17.
Activists from Insulate Britain blocked thousands of motorists during rush hour in September and October last year.
And drivers' rage boiled over as mobs of nuisance protesters blocked school-run mums and lorry drivers on major transport routes.