A MAN who caused hours of disruption to hundreds of A12 commuters and then messaged his friends “how bad is the traffic in town bud?” is to be sentenced in April.

In October, Simon Graham, of Hunting Gate, Colchester, climbed onto the wrong side of a barrier on an A12 bridge close to Junction 26, claiming he was carrying out the stunt as an act of protest.

Police officers, firefighters, and paramedics all swarmed to the scene before the road was put on lockdown for five hours on a day of huge disruption for motorists.

Whilst on the bridge, Graham sent multiple messages to friends, including one note which read “how bad is the traffic in town bud? Sorry for any loss of £££ you may be experiencing because of me”.

Gazette: Chaos - hundreds of commuters were delayed as Simon Graham was talked down from the bridge by trained negotiatorsChaos - hundreds of commuters were delayed as Simon Graham was talked down from the bridge by trained negotiators (Image: Public)

Trained negotiators then attended the scene and Graham, 55, climbed back over the barrier so traffic could start moving again.

Graham was arrested and charged the following day with intentionally/recklessly causing a public nuisance and having an article with a blade or a point.

He admitted both the offences on Friday, February 23.

Detective Chief Inspector Rob Huddleston said Graham’s actions meant emergency services were diverted from other call-outs.

He said: “This was an incident which not only caused a huge amount of disruption to the public but also took away dozens of emergency service workers from helping others across the county.

“We will of course take any report of a concern for welfare seriously and I can assure you that an arrest was only made in this case as it was clear that Graham was carrying out protest activity.”

Gazette: Sentence - Simon Graham will be sentenced in Chelmsford Crown Court on April 30Sentence - Simon Graham will be sentenced in Chelmsford Crown Court on April 30 (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest)

Det Ch Insp Huddleston added the charges were brought against Graham thanks to the efforts of Essex Police’s criminal investigation department.

“We have spoken to members of the public who were affected by Graham’s protest, with many missing out on work and appointments as a result," he said.

“Detectives in our criminal investigation department have worked hard to build this case against Graham and hold him accountable for his actions.”

Graham will be sentenced in Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday, April 30.