St Pancras station trespasser jailed over 13 hour St George’s flag stunt that cost railways more than £1m

The man who brought St Pancras station to a standstill in March by climbing onto the roof of a tunnel wrapped in a St George’s flag has been jailed for a year.

Camden man Terry Maher, 44, climbed onto the tunnel on the evening of March 29 this year, and caused trains from London to be cancelled for a period of 13 hours - and he even had spare power banks to keep his phone charged.

Police said that, when eventually arrested, the Cubitt Street man complained about the police and Brexit.

In total, 88 trains had to be cancelled and around 22,000 people were directly affected - British Transport Police estimated the cost of the disruption to be more than £1 million.

Maher was found guilty of malicious obstruction of the railway and was sentenced to one year in jail at Blackfriars Crown Court on Monday 12 August.

Det Sgt Dean Percival said: "This has been described as the single most expensive incident in the history of high-speed railway in Britain.

"However, not only did it cost the rail industry, it also cost thousands of commuters and holiday-makers their time."