Eco-zealots who blocked Dartford crossing for two days charged after being brought down by cherry picker
THE eco-zealots who blocked Dartford Crossing for two days and had to be brought down by a cherry picker have been charged.
Morgan Trowland, 39, and Marcus Decker, 33, suspended themselves 275ft above the suspension bridge between Kent and Essex earlier this week.
The pair caused misery for thousands of drivers for two days after they scaled the bridge in the early hours of Monday morning.
Police were seen attempting to talk to the protesters and convince them to climb down but the activists claimed they would stay there for at least 24 hours.
The pair were brought down by an extendable cherry picker around 5.30pm yesterday after they finally agreed to move.
They are now both in police custody, after being charged with conspiracy to commit a public nuisance.
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Trowland, of Islington, North London, and Decker, who has no fixed address but is understood to be from New Zealand, are set to appear in Southend Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: “Our priorities have always been to keep people safe and work with our partners to keep Essex moving.
“We have done this consistently during incidents of disruption across the county this year and again this week.
“As we have consistently said, we are not anti-protest but we must take action when we believe laws have been broken and the safety of the public is put at risk.”
Police were first called around 3.50am on Monday, after reports two people had climbed “at height” on the bridge.
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This saw the bridge closed to traffic, with two-hour delays and six miles of tailbacks in both directions from The QEII Bridge on the M25.
Videos later emerged of the men being shot with fireworks, too.