well done to all who took part

you're great.

love

westside

At around midday 24 people were arrested at the scene of the memorial service for 'suspected offences under the Aviation Security Act'. The runway has now been cleared.

brilliant stuff. inspiring.

westside/brum

Well done to all concerned, must have seemed a scary thing to do in this age of airport paranoia, nice one Plane Stupid! It seems there's an upsurge in campaigning and action on climate change stuff. It's brilliant and inspiring....more of the same! Let's keep the pressure on....the time is now!

This was a briliant action challenging activity that is a major contributor to climate chaos

Hopefully the local group are there to support - the worst thing ever is to be released from the local nick and be alone

'while they searched addresses'? Are you saying they raided and searched peoples houses after the action?

Nice one guys, met some of you at the camp, wish I was on the action with you. Shame about lack of media coverage, have to work on that. Basically wanted to say that this tactic is a good one and will probably become quite popular. Looking forward to the Plane Stupid day of action on the 6th of November now we know what to expect. Let them break into our homes, they wont break our spirit. They will probably come up with some evil law that really punishes this sort of thing so we had better do it loads while the penalties are less. Rock on to an aviation free world!

The following article in the Observer on 8th October 2006 shows how far down the road to a police state the UK has gone:

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Angry parents say air protest girls were held in solitary for 36 hours

Rob Sharp
Sunday October 8, 2006
The Observer

Police have been widely criticised over the arrest of 25 protesters involved in a peaceful demonstration at Nottingham East Midlands Airport last month. The parents of three families have attacked the way the police treated their children, who were among those charged following an occupation of the airport's taxiway for four hours on 24 September. The protesters were part of the 'Plane Stupid' campaign targeting the aviation industry's contribution to the pollution causing climate change.

Frances Rickford and her former husband, Brendan Martin, claim that their two daughters - Rose, 21, and Ellen, 18 - were held in solitary confinement for 36 hours after their arrest without being allowed to make a phone call to inform anyone of their situation.

They say the girls were released at separate times late at night on 25 September after they had been held at a police station at Euston Street, Leicester. The pair were told not to talk to one another as a condition of their bail, it is alleged. Their money, keys and mobile telephones were confiscated.

'I was particularly horrified at how the girls had been released in a way that seemed almost calculated to put them in the way of harm,' said Rickford.

Rose told The Observer: 'It was a peaceful protest against climate change. Short-haul flights create a significant proportion of the fumes, and East Midlands' airport is exclusively short haul and freight flights.' She added that her computer, which police seized from shared student accommodation near York, where she is a student, has a crucial 15,000-word piece of coursework on it.

Others have complained about the way the police searched their premises in the wake of the arrests. Anna McKay, a lawyer whose 17-year-old son Toby was also one of those arrested, claimed she was telephoned at work to be told by police that they were searching her house in Crouch End, north London. She claims investigators could have caused up to £1,000 damage when they broke down her door, despite the fact that she had contacted Leicestershire officers several times with her contact details.

She said: 'It's not the kind of offence that you would have thought would warrant that kind of action. My current response is that they weren't justified. The professional thing to have done would be to have telephoned me and asked me to come home.'

Her sentiments are echoed by Andy Freedman, who claimed his house was searched because of his 20-year-old daughter, who he did not want to name. Officers were let into his house in Stroud, Gloucestershire, by a neighbour holding a spare key to the property. 'I was shocked that my personal property was removed,' he added, saying that he needed a computer that was seized for his work as a college lecturer.

It is claimed that as many as 1,000 passengers were delayed by the protesters, who breached a perimeter fence before holding a sit-in on the taxiway between two cargo holds. All 25 now face charges of aggravated trespass, causing a public nuisance and entering a restricted area of an airport without permission. Five are also charged with causing criminal damage.

All 25 will face trial at Leicester Crown Court.