Boat Race protester found guilty

A protester who disrupted this year's Boat Race by swimming into the path of the crews was found guilty today of causing a public nuisance.

Trenton Oldfield, 36, halted the annual race between Cambridge and Oxford universities on April 7 when it was being watched by millions on TV.

He told a jury at London's Isleworth Crown Court that the race was a symbol of elitism in government.

Judge Anne Molyneux said all options were open to the court, including jail, when he is sentenced on October 19.

The court heard that Oldfield, an Australian who moved to the UK in 2001, decided to make the protest after learning of Government plans to "sell off" the NHS and "snoop" on electronic communications, and after hearing encouragement given to "dob in" people planning protests during the Olympics.

Oldfield stopped the annual contest for around half an hour, the first time in the history of the 158-year event that it had been disrupted by a swimmer.

Prosecutor Louis Mably told jurors the race between Oxford and Cambridge was spoiled for hundreds of thousands of spectators watching from the banks of the river or live on BBC TV, not to mention the two university rowing teams.