'I'm a 64-year-old vicar... this is what it was like serving time in prison'

To his friends and former parishioners he is Reverend Mark Coleman, the retired Vicar of Rochdale. But in prison his fellow inmates referred to him as 'The Old Man'.

Last month Mr Coleman, 64, was jailed after taking part in a climate change demonstration which brought the City of London to a standstill. He was one of a number of Insulate Britain protesters who sat in the road at the Bishopsgate junction during a two hour protest in October.

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Since standing down from the church in February 2022 due to ill health, Mr Coleman has become a prominent environmental activist, known as the 'Rochdale Rebel'. But, on April 20, his actions landed him in prison when a judge at Inner London Crown Court sentenced him to five weeks in prison for causing a public nuisance.

After being taken down from the dock Mr Coleman, dressed in his clerical shirt and collar, was sent to HMP Thameside, a category B prison in Greenwich, south London where fellow inmates were serving time for firearms, robbery, drugs and sexual offences.

A bible he'd taken with him was confiscated on entry. He changed into prison issue sweatshirt and pants and was placed in the over 40s D wing in cell 19. His cellmate, an experienced lag with around 15 years of prison time under his belt, quickly took Mr Coleman under his wing.

"He gave me some good advice on how to get things in prison," said Mr Coleman. "He told me sometimes you have to stand up for yourself. He would tell the guards he was looking after the 'Old Man', that's what he called me."

The sparse cell contained a sink and a toilet and shower, covered by a modesty curtain. The view from the first floor window was of the notorious