- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (02/05/2023)
- Original (As enacted)
No versions valid at: 02/05/2023
Point in time view as at 02/05/2023. This version of this provision is not valid for this point in time.
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Public Order Act 2023, Section 3.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.
Valid from 02/07/2023
(1)A person commits an offence if—
(a)they create, or participate in the creation of, a tunnel,
(b)the creation or existence of the tunnel causes, or is capable of causing, serious disruption to—
(i)two or more individuals, or
(ii)an organisation,
in a place other than a dwelling, and
(c)they intend the creation or existence of the tunnel to have a consequence mentioned in paragraph (b) or are reckless as to whether its creation or existence will have such a consequence.
(2)It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) to prove that they had a reasonable excuse for creating, or participating in the creation of, the tunnel.
(3)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), a person is to be treated as having a reasonable excuse for the purposes of that subsection if the creation of the tunnel was authorised by a person with an interest in land which entitled them to authorise its creation.
(4)A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable—
(a)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates’ court, to a fine or to both;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, to a fine or to both.
(5)For the purposes of this section—
(a)“tunnel” means an excavation that extends beneath land, whether or not—
(i)it is big enough to permit the entry or passage of an individual, or
(ii)it leads to a particular destination;
(b)an excavation which is created with the intention that it will become or connect with a tunnel is to be treated as a tunnel, whether or not—
(i)any tunnel with which it is intended to connect has already been created, or
(ii)it is big enough to permit the entry or passage of an individual.
(6)References in this section to the creation of an excavation include—
(a)the extension or enlargement of an excavation, and
(b)the alteration of a natural or artificial underground feature.
(7)This section does not apply in relation to a tunnel if or to the extent that it is in or under a dwelling.
(8)In this section “dwelling” has the same meaning as in section 1 (offence of locking on).
Commencement Information
I1S. 3 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 35(5)
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: