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Manchester woman admits criminal damage after pouring human faeces on Captain Tom Moore memorial

The stunt was part of a climate protest

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 5th October 2022

A woman from Manchester could be facing jail after pleading guilty to criminal damage – an incident in which she poured human faeces over a memorial to Captain Sir Tom Moore.

The 21-year-old carried out the stunt as part of a climate protest, wearing a t-shirt that said ‘End UK private jets’.

Video shared on social media showed her pouring a canister of human waste over the life-size statue of the World War II veteran and fundraiser.

The statue is located in Thistley Meadow, Hatton, south Derbyshire, and was placed there as a tribute to Captain Tom, who raised almost £33 million for NHS charities by walking lockdown laps of his garden in the run up to his 100th birthday.

He died with Covid-19 in February 2021, shortly after he was knighted by the Queen.

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Madeleine Budd of Kedlestone Avenue was arrested in London on Sunday 2 October.

Derbyshire Police charged her on Monday with criminal damage to a war memorial to the value of £200.

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She appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court today, where she pleaded guilty.

Human faeces was poured on a Captain Tom Moore memorial by a climate protester. Credit: Twitter, @EndUKPrivateJets

Prosecutor Jordan Pratt told the court: “This offence lasted for a short amount of time, it is only 30 seconds in length but the impact of this offence is substantial.”

He continued: “This is an abhorrent act. I do not need to remind the court of the impact that Sir Tom had.

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“He was a figurehead that a number of people rallied around in a fundraising effort that raised tens of millions of pounds in the height of the pandemic.”

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In posts from the End UK Private Jets campaign group, Budd was quoted as saying: “Every time a private jet takes off, we pour a bucket of sh*t and blood on everything captain Tom stood for.”

Budd was remanded in custody until her hearing on 25 October.

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Featured image: Twitter, @EndUKPrivateJets