Women attacked factory over Gaza - prosecutors

Three women attacked a factory with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli military action in Gaza, a court has heard.

Two women scaled a roof at Pearson Engineering in Newcastle and staged an eight-hour stand off in February 2025 while a third tried to chain themselves to a truck, the city's crown court was told.

Hollie Mildenhall, 25 and Georgia Coote, 28, both from Newcastle, and Summer Oxlade, 29 and from Houghton-le-Spring, each deny criminal damage.

Opening the case to jurors, prosecutor Michael Bunch said the trio's "strongly held" beliefs did not provide a defence for their actions.

The three pulled up to the entrance of the factory in Scotswood Road in a flatbed truck at about 05:20 GMT on 18 February, the court heard.

Mildenhall and Coote used a ladder from the truck to get to the roof of the guardhouse, where they severed razor wire with bolt croppers, sprayed red paint from fire extinguishers and hurled stones from slingshots, the court heard.

While they were doing that, Oxlade dumped a pile of rubble off the back of the lorry in the entrance to the factory and then tried to chain herself to the vehicle, Bunch said.

The women, who were wearing red overalls, were assisted by two men on the ground dressed all in black who also sprayed paint from extinguishers with the words "resistance is fertile" written on the side, the court heard.

The pair in black quickly ran away once the women were in situ on the roof, the court heard.

Police swiftly managed to free Oxlade, but it was another eight hours before Mildenhall and Coote could be got down from the guardhouse roof with the use of a cherry-picker, the court heard.

Bunch said it was "clearly a well-planned enterprise" with the woman taking less than three minutes to get on the roof.

The stated aim was to cause disruption to the factory as part of an ongoing campaign over Gaza, the court heard.

Bunch said the women would deny causing any damage and say their actions were "lawful given the links they suggest between that factory and the Israeli military action in Gaza and elsewhere".

The prosecutor said the case was simple, that they did cause damage, adding: "Whilst their beliefs may be genuinely and strongly held, they do not provide a defence in law for what the evidence shows they did."

One of the security guards on duty at the time told jurors "it all happened really fast" and he thought "we were being attacked" with people trying to get into the compound.

He said he tried to close the gate but there were "two six foot guys" dressed all in black "like ninjas" blocking the way and "threatening" him to "back off".

The man said one of the men pointed a black fire extinguisher with "Palestine" written on it and squirted red liquid at him, with the paint hitting the guard's clothes.

He said he was "scared" and "worried" and did not know who the people were or what was going to happen, but the men ran off.

While two women climbed on to the roof and pulled the ladder up behind them, the third remained in the truck "videoing and laughing and stuff", the guard said.

The woman in the truck threw a can of paint towards him, which struck the gatehouse, before attempting to lock herself in the cab with chains, the man said.

The two women on the roof were "spraying paint all over" the factory's signage, roof and fence, he added.

The man said they started "dancing on the roof and laughing" when police arrived and one of them used a catapult to fire missiles at the factory's windows.

"They were having a great time basically," the security guard said, with one of the woman using a crowbar to smash the factory's sign.

The trial, which is expected to last up to six days, continues.

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