Woman admits defacing Captain Sir Tom Moore memorial

The life-sized steel silhouette honours the NHS fundraiser

A woman who poured faeces over a memorial to Sir Captain Tom Moore has admitted criminal damage.

Madeleine Budd damaged the life-sized statue of the World War Two veteran in Thistley Meadow, in Hatton, Derbyshire, on Friday in an apparent climate protest.

The 21-year-old, from Manchester, was charged with criminal damage on Monday.

She admitted the offence at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. The case was adjourned until 25 October.

During the hearing, prosecutor Jordan Pratt said Budd approached the memorial and "poured a bucket of human faeces all over the statue".

Mr Pratt told the court the incident was filmed and shared on social media as part of an environmental protest.

He said it was an "abhorrent act", which people would see as "hugely disrespectful".

District Judge Louisa Cieciora said the starting point for sentencing could be one year and six months in jail.

The Army veteran became famous for his fundraising efforts during the first coronavirus lockdown

She declined an application for bail, saying she had "substantial grounds" to believe Budd may commit another offence while on bail, adjourning sentencing for a pre-sentence report until 25 October.

A man in the public gallery then stood up and told the judge: "On behalf of every veteran member, thank you very much."

It is not the first time the memorial has been vandalised - graffiti was sprayed on it in December 2021.

Captain Sir Tom, from Bedfordshire, became a household name during the Covid-19 pandemic when he set out to complete laps around his garden in a bid to raise money for the NHS.

By the time he reached his 100th birthday, he had raised nearly £33m.

The Army veteran was knighted by the Queen before he died with Covid-19 in February 2021.