It's a lucky escape for one Highworth woman who has dodged jail for being part of an activist group breaching a High Court injunction by blocking access to a petrol station. 

Joy Corrigan, 71, a carer from the town near Swindon, was among five Just Stop Oil protestors who were given suspended sentences after admitting to breaking terms of a civil order granted to Thurrock Council and Essex County Council. 

The local authorities secured the injunction in May to “restrain unlawful acts of protest” in their areas. It meant activists were barred from blocking any petrol station and interfering with deliveries or refuelling, the court was told.

A hearing in London on Friday told how Ms Corrigan, alongside Ruth Cook, 70, Dr Patrick Hart, 36, Stephen Jarvis, 66, and George Oakenfold, 78, sat in the road preventing entry to an Esso petrol station at Thurrock Motorway Services in Grays, Essex, on August 24 this year.

Dr Hart, an NHS GP, based in Bristol also caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to 16 pumps with a hammer and by spraying them with orange paint, a judge was also told.

Mr Justice Bourne said the case involved a “deliberate flouting of a court order” and that the harm caused was “not lessened” by protesters having “conscientious motives”.

Ms Cook, Ms Corrigan, Mr Jarvis and Mr Oakenfold were all handed a four-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, on condition they did not breach injunctions again.

Dr Hart received a sentence of four months, suspended for two years on condition he committed no further breaches, and was also ordered to pay a £2,000 fine.

The judge said he accepted the protesters’ assurances they would not breach the injunction again, saying he took their “good character” and “open and candid approach to the court” into account when suspending their sentences.

The barrister said police had confirmed that none of the protesters had glued themselves to the road or “locked-on” to anything, and the wider road network was not affected by their actions.

The protesters, who were unrepresented by lawyers, told the judge they felt it was their duty to highlight the risks of climate change through protest.

Ms Corrigan said there appeared to be “never-ending reports of climate chaos throughout the world”, adding: “We have to do something about it, how else could I look my grandchildren in the eye?

“Our request to stop new oil licences is not a huge request,” she said.