Kate Mead

AN ANTI-OLYMPICS campaigner appeared in court today charged with criminal damage and possession of a bladed article.

Edward Hill, 62, of Foyle Road, Blackheath, pleaded not guilty to the charges at Woolwich Magistrates Court and opted to be tried by jury at Crown Court.

The activist is accused of using a kitchen knife to cut feather markers showing where equestrian events are due to take place at Greenwich Park during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

He is also alleged to have used the knife to dig into the ground in the royal park on September 23 this year.

Dave Townsend, for the Prosecution told magistrates: “This is our first anti-Olympics case.”

Mr Hill, who appeared without representation, was told that the magistrates could deal with the case.

But the defendant, who is a local artist and member of Transition Westcombe, opted for a jury trial at Woolwich Crown Court despite being warned that costs of £1,500 could be payable if convicted.

He was granted unconditional bail pending his next appearance at Woolwich Magistrates Court next month for committal to Crown Court.

A GANG of three robbers, whose ringleader threatened a shop manager that there would be ‘trouble’ if he didn’t show them where the safe was, were found guilty today.

Adrian Martin, 20, Samuel Morrison, 21, and Gavin Walters, 29, robbed £440 of takings from the Cycle Warehouse in Trafalgar Road, Greenwich, on January 12 this year.

A jury at Woolwich Crown Court found them all guilty of robbery after just two hours of deliberation.

Earlier the court heard from manager Matthew Munro how three hooded men with scarves covering their faces entered his shop at 5.45pm just as he had finished cashing up for the day.

Testifying behind a screen, he said one of them gestured to his hoodie pocket and demanded to be shown the safe.

He said: “[The first one] came behind the counter and grabbed me by the shirt and said ‘this is what’s going to happen’.

“He asked about the safe and I lied and said we don’t have a safe. I said that all we have is the £100 we took today that was in an envelope on the counter and he proceeded to pick it up.

“Then he said ‘I know there is a safe here, I don’t want there to be any trouble and he grabbed his hoodie pocket implying he had a weapon so I told him where the safe was.”

Mr Munro opened the safe for the robbers who took four days worth of takings that had been left in there, the court heard.

Police who were called by Mr Munro picked up the gang in a black VW Beetle within 10 minutes of the incident and found envelopes containing the takings from the shop in the car.

Martin of Fenwick Road, Peckham, Morrison of Boreman House, Thames Street, Greenwich and Walters of Courtney Hotel, Aldersbrook Road, Manor Park, East London, all denied robbery.

Sentencing was adjourned until August 6 for pre sentence reports.

Man in court on Greenwich Park criminal damage charge

Three found guilty of bike shop robbery