Evictions on Leyton Marsh on Tuesday

Three people who were arrested following a protest at Leyton Marsh have been jailed.

Simon Moore, 29, Daniel Ashman, 27 and Anita Olivacce, 25, all of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 14 of the Public Order Act and were fined £200. All three refused to pay so were sentenced to five days imprisonment.

Bailiffs, accompanied by police, were at Leyton Marsh, on the Hackney border at 8am Tuesday morning to carry out an eviction of protestors who had been trying to prevent the erection of a temporary basketball practice court on protected marsh land.

According to the local resident’s blog: Save Leyton Marsh, the protestors were ‘forcibly evicted’ and later some protestors were arrested while trying to stop a lorry from entering the site.

Work has resumed on the site but the protestors say that the campaign will continue. The residents are currently challenging the legality of the work, which is being carried out by the Olympic Development Authority, on the grounds that it breaches planning regulations.

Planning permission was given for the removal of top-soil for the temporary build but residents and protesters say that the excavations are significantly deeper.

The residents have expressed concerns that the basketball court may not be removed as the ODA have promised, in October this year.

More on the story here.