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Wellington, Sept 2 NZPA - A New Zealander is among six environmental activists standing trial in southern England this week for damaging a coal-fired power station.
Emily Hall, 34, from Hawke's Bay, and five men caused nearly £30,000 ($79,000) of damage to the Kingsnorth power station near Hoo in Kent, Maidstone Crown Court has been told.
Hall, who moved to Britain in 1996, Huw Williams, 41, Ben Stewart, 34, Kevin Drake, 44, and Will Rose, 29, scaled the coal-burning power station's chimney and painted the name "Gordon" on it.
The court was told they had planned to daub "Gordon, bin it" in a reference to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, British news reports today said.
Another activist, Tim Hewke, 48, is accused of helping organise the protest from the ground. All six are charged with criminal damage.
The protest on the 200m chimney last October was against plans for new coal-fired units at the plant to supply electricity to 1.5 million homes.
As well as building the new plant the E.ON UK company is hoping to design and build a prototype for capturing carbon dioxide from the boilers so that it can be stored in disused North Sea oil and gas fields rather than being pumped into the atmosphere.
The activists claimed the project would create a precedent for more coal plants in the future.
- NZPA
