Protesters' latest 'Mischief' - swimming into N-sub base

Published on Friday 5 October 2007 00:44

THEY are a little-known anti- nuclear protest group from Scandinavia whose name translates as "mischief". And yesterday one of their number sparked a large-scale military incident when he tried to swim into Coulport naval base, where part of the UK's nuclear arsenal is stored.

The man, identified as Andreas Hedfors, 29, from Gothenburg, a member of Swedish protest group Ofog, had to be pulled from the freezing waters in the early hours of yesterday.

Fellow protesters said he got past sensors and far into the base before having to be rescued.

A Royal Navy helicopter, lifeboat and coastguards were involved in the search for him after one of his co-protesters alerted the authorities.

He was eventually lifted out of the water just before 2:30am, taken to hospital and treated for shock before being arrested by police and taken into custody.

Coulport is part of the Clyde naval base, home of Britain's Trident nuclear submarines.

The man, who was wearing a wetsuit, was one of four Scandinavian activists who tried to swim into the base. Three were stopped before they got inside the boundary.

A further four members of their group tried to enter the base by walking along the shoreline. They were arrested by armed military police as they entered its grounds.

The rescue was only launched after the other activists reported their missing colleague.

A spokesman for the MoD said: "Earlier this morning a group of swimmers were spotted and removed from the water outside Coulport naval base by police launch.

"In a separate incident, a concerned protester phoned into Coulport inquiring as to the whereabouts of another protester who was also believed to be in the water.

"An RAF search and rescue operation was conducted and he was found, removed from the water and taken to hospital for treatment for possible post- immersion shock.

"This individual is now in the custody of police."

An Ofog spokeswoman confirmed a member of their group was rescued.

She said: "Andreas got into the water coming from the north side and he swam past the sensors surrounding the base.

"He managed to get quite far into the base, close to the explosives-handling jetty, before he was arrested.

"We have not been able to speak to him and have no idea how he managed to get so close. We're very curious as to how he managed to do it."

She added that all of the other protesters had been taken to the base police station, where they were given verbal warnings and released.

The MoD said the man was intercepted before he approached any navy property.

Strathclyde Police said Mr Hedfors faced a charge of breaching a local by-law and was being held in custody.

He was expected to appear at Helensburgh District Court today.

More than 170 people were arrested on Monday in a protest outside the gates at Faslane, which saw 500 blockade the base. Some of the demonstrators glued themselves to the ground outside or chained themselves to the outer fence. The protests marked a year of opposition by campaign group Faslane 365.

NON-VIOLENT IDEOLOGY

OFOG is notorious in Sweden for its protests. Formed four years ago, it is a loose collection of activists, with no official membership numbers, and it claims to have no political or ideological position other than staunch opposition to nuclear missiles and the wider military structure.

Its direct-action protests have included 15 members breaking into the Bosch factory in Karlskoga, Sweden, which it claimed produced weapons, and unveiling a banner on the roof. Others blockaded an alleged NATO radio outpost in Norway.

Ofog also took part in the Faslane 365 protest in October last year.

Describing its acts as "mischief", the group's members practise non-violent methods of protest, preferring to allow themselves to be arrested.