Anti-fracking activists jailed after Lancashire protest freed by Court of Appeal judges

Three anti-fracking activists jailed for a protest at a site in Lancashire have been freed by the Court of Appeal.

Soil scientist Simon Blevins, teacher Richard Roberts and piano restorer Rich Loizou were the first environmental protesters to be imprisoned since 1932.

The three men had climbed on to lorries outside energy firm Cuadrilla's fracking site in Little Plumpton in a protest which lasted almost 100 hours in July.

Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett said the jail sentences handed to the men for causing a public nuisance were "manifestly excessive".

"In our judgment the appropriate sentence which should have been imposed on September 26 was a community order with a significant requirement of unpaid work," he said.

"But these appellants have been in prison for six weeks.

"As a result, and only for that reason, we have concluded that the appropriate sentence now is a conditional discharge for two years."

The packed courtroom erupted with applause and some supporters began singing after the decision was announced.

Blevins, 26, Sheffield and Roberts, 36, from London, had both been jailed for 16 months, while Loizou, 31, from Devon had received a 15-month prison sentence.

They were convicted of causing a public nuisance following a trial at Preston Crown Court.

A fourth activist, Julian Brock, 47, from Torquay, was given a suspended 12-month sentence sentence after he admitted causing a public nuisance.

Following the activists' release, actress and environmental campaigner Dame Emma Thompson said the three men had been "trying to protect our children's future from fossil-fuelled disaster".

"When a government behaves contrary to science, reason and public opinion, it's inevitable that some brave souls will resist," she said.

"Thank God the courts have seen sense and freed them!"

Cuadrilla was given the go-ahead last week to start work at its Little Plumpton site following a failed High Court bid by campaigners to block fracking due to safety concerns.

Protesters have set up camp outside the site virtually around the clock since it opened, concerned about, among other things, the contamination of drinking water and earthquakes.

Fracking had been suspended since 2011 after it caused two earth tremors - one of 2.3 magnitude.