A woman who poured human faeces on a memorial to Captain Tom in a climate protest could be facing jail.
The 21-year-old pleaded guilty to criminal damage to the life-size statue, created in the likeness of war veteran Captain Sir Tom Moore, who died in 2021.
Madeleine Budd, of Kedlestone Avenue, Longsight, carried out the stunt wearing a t-shirt that said ‘End UK Private Jets’ – footage of the incident was then posted on a Twitter account of the same name, reports The Manc.
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.
Budd was arrested in London on Sunday 2 October, and charged by Derbyshire Police on Monday with criminal damage to a war memorial to the value of £200.
She appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday, 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.
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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.”
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
