Victim speaks out after security guard fined for attack at fracking site

Louise Boyle, 32 ended up with cuts and bruises to her legs from the incident at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road drill site at Little Plumpton near Blackpool.

Magistrates at Preston heard that Ebrima Jagne, of Levens Grove, Blackpool, repeatedly kicked a camp bed belonging to the campaigner on June 1 last year.

The 33-year-old defendant had denied offences of assault and criminal damage but was convicted following a trial before Preston Magistrates’ Court. Prosecutors said the offence had occurred after 6pm.

Ms Boyle had set up a bed opposite the Cuadrilla site where Jagne was working as a security guard. The court was told he kicked the bed on several occasions causing it to hit her in the shins.

Ms Boyle received minor cuts to her legs as a result.

Jagne then kicked the bed in the air causing it to land in the road, leaving her bed damaged and unusable.

In a police interview he said that she had shoved the bed at him first and he “retaliated”.

The magistrates court imposed a £300 fine and ordered Mr Jagne to pay his victim £200 compensation for the assault, and a further £60 to replace the broken bed.

Speaking after the trail, social worker Louise Boyle, 32, who was living at the fracking camp near the site, said she was pleased with the result.

She said: “It was at the entrance to the site and I was there with seven or eight other ladies, mainly middle aged, to perform a silent vigil.

“There were no deliveries due as it was after working hours. I had spoken to the police liaison officer before and had come with a camp bed for the vigil.

“It is good that he has been prosecuted, it highlights the intimidation and violence that protester have suffered there.

“They think we are just ‘a bunch of crusties’, but we have the right to be there and the judge acknowledged our human right to protest in the hearing.

“I hope this will make the security guards think about what they do. If they cross the blue line (boundary) then whatever they do becomes a civil matter.”

A Cuadrilla Spokesman today said: “We expect all our employees and contractors to conduct their behaviour according to rigorous ethical, professional and legal standards.

"In this incident the contractor concerned appears to have not upheld the standards that we expect and we respect the court’s decision.

"Upon being made aware of the incident we immediately suspended the guard, gathered further information and subsequently terminated his working on our site.”