Plan B Forum

A burglar who caused chaos for commuters after a 17-hour police standoff in a Charlton tree overhanging a railway line has been jailed for 18 months.



Charlton Andre, 33, of Florence Road, New Cross, was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to burglary, handling stolen goods, driving whilst disqualified and obstructing an engine or carriage using the railway by an unlawful act.

On August 13 Andre drove a stolen motorbike to the Stone Lane Retail Park, Woolwich Road, where he set off an alarm committing a burglary.

The roofer climbed a 30 feet tree causing hours of disruptions to the line which led to the delay or cancellation of 783 trains at a cost of half a million pounds, the court was told In an interview he told police he planned to jump onto a train to escape.

Officer in the case Detective Constable Carly Walker, Greenwich CID said: “Andre caused an enormous amount of disruption and misery for many passengers when he decided to stay in the tree in the vain hope that police would give up and let him escape.”

The roofer climbed a 30 feet tree causing hours of disruptions to the line which led to the delay or cancellation of 783 trains at a cost of half a million pounds, the court was told In an interview he told police he planned to jump onto a train to escape.