Ten people have been charged after disrupting the 2023 Aintree Grand National, attended by hundreds of race lovers in Southport.
Police say ten people have been charged following protests on the M57 and Wango Lane, which occurred on the same day as the Grand National on Saturday 15 April 2023.
It was reported that a number of people had blocked access for vehicles near junction 2 of the motorway at around 5.15pm, which led to significant traffic delays in the area.
A further protest was reported on Wango Lane, which is near to Aintree racecourse, when people attempted to block the road.
The chaos caused by the blockades brought many roads to a standstill and traffic was congested across the area causing added disruption for thousands.
Following an ongoing investigation, we can confirm the following nine people have been charged with wilful obstruction of a highway:
Sarah Love, 47, of no fixed abode
Zoe Able, 27, of Leeders Pightle, in Norfolk
Lucia Alexander, 40, of no fixed abode
Jamie Carter, 29, of no fixed abode,
Elenor Kenny, 19, of no fixed abode
Tobias Brown, 49, of West Wycombe Road, High Wycombe
James Kelly, 46, of Mornant Avenue, Hartford, in Northwich
Andrew Houghton, 66, of Mendip Crescent, Bedford
Rosa Sharkey, 23, of Chase Side Avenue, Enfield
A tenth person, John Edwards, 49, of Cox Road, Alresford, Colchester, has been charged with stopping/causing a vehicle to remain at rest on a carriageway of motorway.
They have all been released on bail and due to attend various courts on either Wednesday 22 November or Wednesday 20 December.
A further protest that occurred on the racecourse on Saturday 15 April is still under investigation.
Detective Chief Inspector Ben Dyer said: “Merseyside Police respects the right to a peaceful protest and expression of views, but criminal behaviour and disorder will never be tolerated.
“Our investigation into the protest on the racecourse at Aintree on Saturday 15 April remains ongoing and if you have any information, please get in touch.”
If you have any information, you can call 101 or DM ‘MerPolCC’ on Twitter of ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook, quoting reference 23000318389.