Eight arrests as police break up three-day protest at Lichfield factory
Eight people have been arrested after a protest at a factory site in Lichfield was brought to an end after three days.
Police had been at the UAV Engines site in Shenstone, Lichfield, since 6am on Monday, after Palestinian flag-waving vandals climbed onto the roof and poured paint over the front of the building.
Others chained themselves to fencing and lay down on the ground in front of the main entrance.
They called for the company – which is owned by Israeli firm Elbit Systems – to be shut down, claiming it is involved in manufacturing parts for drones used by the Israeli military against Palestinians.
Two women and a man – aged 26 and 47 and from London – are in police custody having been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and trespassing offences.
Two others – a 40-year-old man of no fixed address and a 50-year-old woman from Norfolk – have also been detained on suspicion of trespass and other criminal damage offences. They remain in police custody.
It follows the arrests on Tuesday of two women and a man on suspicion of conspiring to cause criminal damage. They have since been placed on conditional bail.
Disruption
Assistant Chief Constable Scott Green, from Staffordshire Police, said: “We have been working hard to ensure that this issue was resolved peacefully and without too much disruption to the local community.
“We thoroughly support people’s right to protest but, when criminal acts were starting to be committed, we took the decision to arrest those involved.
“However, given the location of the protests, we needed to have a plan that would ensure the protest was resolved safely. We succeeded in doing this by using the experience and the specialist skills of officers.
“I would like to end by thanking the public and members of the local community for their constant support and cooperation during this time.”
The protesters belong to a group they say has been active for just over a month. In that time they claim to have targeted Elbit Systems on 15 separate occasions.
They were condemned by Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant, who said he was appalled by the damage caused to local property.
The Lynn Lane site has been targeted on numerous occasions in the past.
In August 2014 a two-day protest was held there, which was followed by an anti-war demonstration that October.
The following July police, made 19 arrests after demonstrators ignored a High Court injunction banning them from within a 250-metre radius of the factory.
