A man in his early 20s is due to appear in court on Thursday in relation to an incident where a fuel protester drove a tractor and slurry tank through a garda checkpoint to try to join a blockade at Whitegate oil refinery in Co Cork.
The man, who is from Leamlara near Midleton, triggered a security alert at around 12.30pm on Saturday when he allegedly failed to stop at a garda checkpoint on the main Midleton-Whitegate R630 road.
The man was driving a New Holland TM 165 tractor towing a 9,000 litre slurry tanker.
The man, who was accompanied by a young woman in the cab of the tractor, continued on the Midleton to Whitegate road for around 3km.
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The protester finally came to a halt near the ESB generating station at Aghada, approximately 1km from Whitegate village when gardaí formed a roadblock and the young man slowed down and stopped the tractor.
The man was arrested and brought to Midleton Garda station where he was charged over the incident.
It is understood that the man was charged with several counts of dangerous driving at various locations on the R630 before being released on station bail to appear on the charges at the scheduled sitting of Midleton District Court on Thursday.
Gardaí also took the name and details of the young woman, who was also in her early 20s, and had been in the cab of the tractor. She was not arrested and was released without charge.
