A grandmother from Dorchester has been spared jail after being sentenced for breaking the windows of JPMorgan Chase.

Rosemary (Annie) Webster, 66, a retired cook and beekeeper from Dorchester, appeared at Inner London Crown Court together with four co-defendants.

All of the woman had denied the charges but were convicted of criminal damage in March and have now been sentenced - with all but one avoiding jail time.

Amy Pritchard from Liverpool, was given a 12 month jail sentence, while Ms Webster and the other three were given a total of 45 months suspended sentences between them, plus a total of 330 hours of unpaid work in their communities.

The five women who 'broke glass in case of climate emergency' at the bank’s European headquarters were sentenced for what the bank said to be £306,000 worth of criminal damage.

They have lodged appeals against their convictions on grounds of abuse of process by the judge who presided over the case,  Judge Silas Reid.

A date for the appeal is expected soon.

Commenting on the sentencing, Natasha Walter, author and campaigner, said: “The women who took this action against the biggest financier of fossil fuels in the world are carrying forward a vital legacy of nonviolent civil disobedience.

"As with the Suffragettes who broke the law in order to make the case for progressive change, these women should not be seen as criminals. The real criminals are those who, despite all the evidence that we are on track to create an unliveable climate for future generations, continue to pour money into oil and gas and continue to drive us into a dangerously warming world.”

As reported, Ms Webster, along with six other women, were found guilty of causing around £100,000 worth of criminal damage to the Barclay's Bank’s London headquarters in April 2021.

Mrs Webster, along with Cazzie Wood, 53, Gabby Ditton, 28, Lucy Porter, 48, Sophie Cowen, 31, and Zoe Cohen, 52, and one other who cannot be named, were handed sentences in January 2023 of between six and eight months, suspended for two years.

Nine climate activists from Extinction Rebellion were also cleared by a jury of causing £500,000 worth of criminal damage for shattering windows at HSBC bank's headquarters in London.