Seven quizzed over GM crop attack

Seven people were arrested after genetically modified crops were trampled and pulled up in a field in Essex, police said.

Seven people were arrested after genetically modified crops were trampled and pulled up in a field in Essex, police said.

The group of five women and two men, from London, Oxford and Cambridge, were arrested last night for criminal damage after £300-worth of GM maize was destroyed, a police spokeswoman said.

Essex police confirmed that the area, on the edge of Wivenhoe, had been attacked "several times" in the past.

The seven, who have not been named, were arrested and taken to Clacton police station, where they remain in custody and were being questioned.

Meanwhile, a police helicopter has been sent up to survey the damage.