Six British pro-Palestine activists accused of attacking a factory operated by Israeli defence firm Elbit went on trial on Tuesday.

Prosecutors said the six defendants were part of the now proscribed protest group Palestine Action, which carried out the assault on the Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol, southwest England, in August last year.

The activists are accused of aiming to cause as much damage as possible, with one also charged with striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.

They intended to “cause serious damage to property and to use or threaten unlawful violence against anyone who stood in their way, if necessary with the use of weapons including sledgehammers”, prosecutor Deanna Heer said.

Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 20, Fatema Zainab Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, deny charges of aggravated burglary, violent disorder and criminal damage.

Reporting by Reuters.