'Concrete' van used to smash into Yorkshire weapon factory gates

-Credit:Google Maps
-Credit:Google Maps


A van crashed through bollards outside a Yorkshire weapons factory before protesters attached themselves to concrete and refused to leave.

West Yorkshire Police specialist officers were on the scene after the Ford Transit, loaded down with wet concrete, smashed through the metal gates of Teledyne Defence and Space in Baildon before 5am on Tuesday morning (January 28). Two people then "locked themselves to the concrete", police say.

Palestine Action have taken responsibility for the protest and said it was targeting the company due to it having licences to export weapons to Israel. The same group also caused £1m in losses to the company when it targeted its Teledyne Labtech factory in Wales in 2022.

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A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "Two people have been arrested following a policing operation this morning (Tuesday, January 28) at Teledyne premises in Baildon.

"A van weighted down with concrete was used to ram the security bollards and two people then locked themselves to the concrete refusing to move.

"Specialist police resources attended the location to resolve the incident. A man aged 27 and woman aged 44 were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage and are now in police custody."