Man jailed for smearing faeces over police cell

4:50pm Monday 8th September 2008

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A man accused of smearing excrement over his jail cell in Kingston police station has been sentenced to seven months in prison.

The 37-year-old had been arrested earlier that day for stealing a DVD and video recorder before he began his filthy protest against what he saw as police ignoring him.

Standing in the dock at Kingston Magistrates' Court today, wearing a blue t-shirt, grey jacket and with a green tattoo on his arm, Christopher Hughes, who gave an address as Alum Court in The Retreat, Surbiton, but was described as homeless, also admitted stealing nearly £800 of cosmetics.

His defence solicitor Mr Miguel Blanco said Hughes, a heroin and alcohol addict, was sorry: “He does admit the criminal damage but disputes it was his excrement,” he said. “He says it was food.

“He says he lost self-control and felt police were not listening to him and this was the only way he could get attention from the police.”

Hughes problems began when he filled up a basket of cosmetics worth £790.61 at Superdrug in Clarence Street on Friday, August 15 and covered it up with his hoodie.

He got outside but was caught by security guards after trying to escape and arrested.

Later that day in cell two at the police station he was caught on CCTV urinating on the floor and daubing his own faeces on the walls, floor and ceiling leaving a £300 clean-up bill.

A week later Hughes was arrested by officers in the town centre on Saturday for breaching the conditions of his bail banning him from Kingston.

When he was hauled into the police station he came clean about a DVD and video recorder he had stolen from Maplins that day and stowed in a taxi around the corner.

Also defending him on the DVD theft, Miss Victoria Sheppard-Jones, said: “Had it not been for his own admissions he would not have been arrested. That shows a great deal of honesty.”

Magistrate Harold Jones sentenced Hughes to seven months in prison - one month for smearing excrement, two months for stealing from Maplins and four months for stealing from Superdrug.

Kingston police station is currently planning on closing the eight custody cells and opening a purpose built prison block with neighbouring Richmond pending a public consultation.

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