3Offence of causing serious disruption by tunnellingE+W
(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 in force at 2.7.2023 by S.I. 2023/733, reg. 2(a)