October 20, 2015 7.13 pm This story is over 101 months old

Anti-drone protesters fined and given conditional discharge for breaking onto RAF Waddington

Found guilty: The four campaigners who broke onto RAF Waddington in January to protest against the use of drones have each been given a conditional discharge at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court.
Penny Walker, Katharina Karcher, Gary Eagling and Christopher Cole outside Lincoln Magistrates' Court on October 19. Photo: The Lincolnite

The four campaigners who broke onto RAF Waddington in January to protest against the use of drones have each been given a conditional discharge at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court.

As previously reported, Christopher Cole, 51, from Oxford, Gary Eagling, 52, from Nottingham, Katharina Karcher, 31, from Coventry, and Penelope Walker, 64, from Leicester first appeared in court on Tuesday, February 10, pleading not guilty to charges of criminal damage.

The protesters, who belong to the End The Drone Wars group, used bolt cutters to break through a fence onto the base, armed with banners and leaflets condemning the use of drones.

RAF Waddington is home to the Reaper Ground Control Station, which pilots unmanned missions across the globe. The actions of the campaigners caused a lockdown at the base for an hour.

The protesters were arrested and charged by Lincolnshire Police before being released on bail.

Following a two-day trial, all four defendants were found guilty and given conditional discharges for two years.

They were also ordered to pay court fines of just over £300 and to repair the damage to the fence.