Il Nuovo Postiglione - UK climate protester jailed for three years

Morgan Trowland, 40, and Marcus Decker, 34, used climbing equipment to scale the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge in October.

The bridge was closed from 4:00 am on October 17 to 9:00 pm the next day, causing huge jams as traffic was forced to use nearby tunnels.

Judge Shane Collery at Southend Crown Court sentenced Trowland to three years in prison, while Decker was jailed for two years and seven months.

"You have to be punished for the chaos you caused and to deter others from copying you," said the judge.

He told the pair, from the Just Stop Oil protest group: "(You) plainly believed you knew better than everyone else".

"By your actions you caused this very important road to be closed for 40 hours," he added.

- Traffic chaos -

The pair, who were found guilty at a trial for causing a public nuisance, have been in custody since October 20.

The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge is used by an estimated 160,000 vehicles a day and links up to one of Europe's busiest motorways.

At nearly 60 metres (200 feet) above the road, they unfurled a giant "Just Stop Oil" banner, the court was told.

Just Stop Oil has mounted a series of disruptive protests to try to stop the UK government from sanctioning new North Sea oil and gas exploration.

Essex Police said that those affected by the gridlock included a "heavily pregnant woman who needed urgent medical help".

Another person missed the funeral of their best friend of 35 years, and a business lost more than £160,000 (nearly $200,000) in earnings, it added.

Jacob Bindman, Trowland's lawyer, told court that his client "doesn't intend to undertake any large-scale disruptive protests in the future".

M.Lombardi--INP