A GROUP of protesters have been jailed for causing damage to a factory they believed was making chips for Israeli drones.

The pro-Palestinian activists attacked the Teledyne Labtech factory in Presteigne, Powys in December, causing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage.

The three women and one man unfurled a Palestine banner, drilled holes in the factory roof and daubed the building in red paint while 64 members of staff worked in the facility.

They also smashed computer screens and set off smoke grenades.

Ruth Hogg, 40, from Stanley Road, Aberystwyth, denied a charge of conspiracy to commit criminal damage, but was found guilty after trial last month.

PhD postgraduate researcher and former Aberystwyth arts Centre employee, Hogg, was jailed on Monday for 27 months at Mold Crown Court.

Susan Bagshaw, 65, from Clawdd Helyg, Commins Coch near Machynlleth, Morwenna Grey, 41, from Penrallt Street, Machynlleth and Tristan Dixon, 34, from Huddersfield, all pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit criminal damage and were jailed for 23 months.

The court was told during Hogg’s trial that protestors risked creating cyanide if chlorine had become mixed with other chemicals at the site.

The factory had to be closed for three weeks while repairs took place.