15 charged after Heathrow expansion protest

Fifteen people have been charged with wilful obstruction after campaigners against airport expansion staged a protest near Heathrow Airport.

A small group of people ran on to the M4 spur road and lay down in front of oncoming traffic, causing a temporary disruption on Saturday.

Scotland Yard announced on Sunday that 15 people aged between 21 and 67 have been charged with wilful obstruction of the highway.

They were all bailed to appear at Ealing Magistrates' Court on December 22.

Among the accused are seven Londoners. They are: Isabelle Anderson, 30, of Stratford; Madeleine Allis-Petersen, 24, of Ealing; Joanne Louise Bodimeade, 28, of Lambeth; Alexis Delage, 25, of Lewisham; Sophia Lysaczanko, 28, of Haringey; Tom Venner-Woodcock, 29, of Southwark, and Tess Lotter, 30, of Camden.

The others charged are: Antoine Thalmann, 25, and Henry Owen, 23, both of Oxford; Simon Bramwell, 44, of Stroud, Gloucestershire; Ian Bray, 49, of Kirklees, West Yorkshire; Graham Lewis, 53, of Wells, Somerset; Thomas Harford, 26, and Margaret Charnley, 67, both of Bristol, Avon, and Sibi Moore, 21, of Sidmouth, Devon.