THREE Oxford protesters have been told to do 150 hours of community service after a week-long occupation at a gas-fired power station.

Daniel Chivers, 34, David Shakespeare, 27, and Claudia Comberti, 26, were among 21 people to admit aggravated trespassing after the October sit-in at EDF Energy’s West Burton power station near Retford in Nottinghamshire.

The No Dash For Gas protesters were sentenced at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court for their part in the demonstration.

Speaking last night Mr Chivers, from Florence Park, said: “Obviously I’m very relieved to not be going to jail.”

But he said he thought the judge had not handed out prison sentences because there were “moral” reasons behind their actions.

He said: “We were driven by a moral need and we were acting on our consciences.”

District judge Leo Pyle said many of the defendants were highly educated men and women who had caring roles in the community. He added: “Your motives were genuine but you knew what the boundaries were.”