A WEYMOUTH woman has been fined for obstructing the M25 on five separate occasions during a wave of protests blocking motorway junctions last year.
Insulate Britain activist Emma Smart was charged with five counts of wilful obstruction of a highway at Crawley Magistrates Court in West Sussex yesterday.
READ MORE: Jailed Insulate Britain activist from Weymouth to go on hunger strike
Smart, aged 44, pleaded guilty to the charges relating to the five separate incidents whereby she, without lawful authority or excuse, wilfully obstructed the free passage along the M25 on September 13, 15, 17, 21 and 29 last year.
She was fined £75 for each offence, and must pay a victim surcharge of £34 for the offence which took place on September 17.
Insulate Britain is a campaign group that is calling on the UK government to put in place policy and funding for a national home insulation programme starting with all social housing in response to the climate crisis.
Last week marked the first day of criminal proceedings for 117 people involved in blocking the M25 motorway, the Port of Dover and other highways, for what Insulate Britain has described as 'non-violent civil resistance'.
The activist group said more than 25 group hearings were scheduled in the coming months at Crawley, Stratford and Chelmsford Magistrates Courts.
As reported, ecologist Smart was sentenced to four months in HMP Bronzefield in Surrey on November 17 last year after taking part in another roadblock protest on the M25 on October 8 during morning rush hour.
She went on hunger strike for 26 days whilst in prison. Ahead of her release she said she felt it was the only option left to raise awareness, and accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of being 'heartless or scared' for failing to prevent deaths caused by fuel poverty.
She and five other Insulate Britain campaigners were released halfway through the sentences which were handed out by the High Court, after the Government took out an injunction to stop the roadblocks.
The methods used during the protest attracted widespread criticism, with people accusing the group of blocking the path of emergency services.
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