Uckfield man who climbed on oil rig in Extinction Rebellion protest due to appear in court

Alistair Sandell, a horticulturalist, of Uckfield, was arrested on Saturday (October 10), at the Horse Hill oil extraction site where he had scaled an oil rig to stage a 12-hour protest against plans by UK Oil and Gas (UKOG) to extract fossil fuels at the site.

He was later charged with aggravated trespass.

Lindsay Parkin, 50, a management consultant of Brighton, was also arrested and charged.

Mr Sandell will appear at Staines Magistrates’ Court on November 16.

Mr Parkin appeared at Guildford Magistrates Court on Monday (October 12).

A spokesman for Extinction Rebellion (XR) said: “The two Extinction Rebellion activists entered the site in the early hours of Saturday morning, using an access ladder to climb the rig to a platform approximately 15 metres above the ground.

“They hung a banner from the rig saying ‘No More Oil’ and stayed there, on a platform 15 metres above the ground for 12 hours.

“The two men, who both have young families, took this action in the name of their children and on behalf of all children, who face the terrible impact of climate and ecological destruction.

“Both were arrested as they came down from the oil rig and charged with aggravated trespass and taken to Salfords custody suite, near Reigate, where Parkin was held overnight.

“Sandell who was released in the early hours of Sunday morning.”

The 32-metre high rig, which the men scaled, was recently brought onto the site, which is located two miles from Horley town centre and close to Gatwick airport.

The XR spokesman said: “According to a UKOG, the rig is being used as part of a workover ‘to further optimise oil flow’ and to ‘pump at a deeper level’.

“This follows a decrease in the amount of oil that the company has been able to extract according to the latest official figures released at the beginning of October.

“Surrey County Council approved plans for 20 years of oil production at the site in September 2019, just three months after declaring a climate emergency.

“This is the latest in a series of actions at the site over the last twelve months including slow walks, activists ‘locking on’ across the site gates and occupying containers within the site.

“The protests aim to highlight the continued oil extraction at the Horse Hill site.

“Earlier this year a local campaigner won permission for a judicial review of Surrey County Council’s decision in September last year to grant planning permission to produce oil at the site for 20 years – a move that could add an estimated 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

“Campaigners have set up a crowdfunding appeal to cover the cost of the Judicial Review. Donations can be made at https://chuffed.org/project/support-surrey-oil-legal-challenge.”