Manchester woman admits criminal damage after pouring human faeces on Captain Tom Moore memorial
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.
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.
She appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court today, where she pleaded guilty.
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.
“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.”
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.
Featured image: Twitter, @EndUKPrivateJets