Protesters accused of bridge stunt that closed M25 Dartford Crossing remanded in custody

Two men accused of scaling a bridge in a Just Stop Oil protest bringing widespread disruption to the Dartford Crossing for two days today appeared in court.

Morgan Trowland, 39, and Marcus Decker, 33, have now been remanded into custody after indicating not guilty pleas at Southend Magistrates' Court over committing public nuisance in the alleged stunt.

The men will now face a jury trial after drivers were left unable to use the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex.

The bridge became blocked when two demonstrators mounted its cables with climbing equipment, the court heard.

Prosecutor Ruth Becker said the pair began just before 4am on Monday and eventually climbed so high that police negotiators urging them to descend were no longer able to communicate with them.

The pair are then said to have unfurled a Just Stop Oil banner and remained there for almost 36 hours, ending the alleged protest at 5.38pm on Tuesday.

Both protesters and emergency service workers responding to it were put in danger, she added.

Civil engineer Trowland, of Islington, north London, and musician Decker, of no fixed address, appeared in the dock, speaking to confirm their details and indicate not guilty pleas to the offence.

Shouts from the public gallery of “shame on you” were heard after District Judge Christopher Williams denied both of them bail.

The two accused were remanded into custody until a plea and trial preparation hearing at Basildon Crown Court on November 17.

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