A FORMER Fishguard School pupil was due to be sentenced today (Friday) following a protest at sea last year.

Climate activist Sara Howell  appeared alongside Greenpeace director Russel Norman at Napier District Court, New Zealand this morning (NZ time).

Howell, from Dinas, has admitted jumping in the path of the world's largest oil exploration vessel Amazon Warrior.

The action was in protest at off-shore oil drilling in New Zealand.

Western Telegraph: Sara Howell, pictured in a Greenpeace video.Sara Howell, pictured in a Greenpeace video.

Speaking on social media ahead of her court appearance, the university graduate thanked her family and friends in west Wales for their continued support.

The 26-year-old has defended her part in the protest, saying: "It wasn't an act of anger, it was an act of love, and it came from a place of hope and care."

At the end of an hour-long sentencing hearing, Judge Arthur Tompkins reserved a decision and remanded Norman and Howell for sentencing on September 24.