Woman sentenced for defacing Captain Sir Tom Moore memorial

The life-sized steel silhouette honours the NHS fundraiser

A woman who tipped faeces over a memorial of Sir Captain Tom Moore has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Madeleine Budd targeted the sculpture of the World War Two veteran and NHS fundraiser as part of a climate protest in Derbyshire on 30 September.

The 21-year-old, from Manchester, was given a 21-week sentence suspended for 18 months at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

She had previously admitted one count of criminal damage at the same court.

Budd was also ordered to pay £200 in compensation, £85 in costs and a £154 victim surcharge.

David Burns, prosecuting, said the protester approached the memorial in Thistley Meadow, Hatton, and "poured a bucket of human faeces all over the statue".

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

Mr Burns said the act had caused "serious distress" as well as "outrage in society" and suggested a custodial sentence.

But Katie McFadden, defending, said "people being offended" was "not enough" to pass the custodial threshold.

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

She added Budd described Captain Sir Tom as a "hero" but used the stunt to raise awareness around the climate emergency and the use of private jets.

Ms McFadden also said Budd did not "cause excessive damage or inconvenience" and made efforts to clean it up.

Sentencing Budd, District Judge Louisa Cieciora said: "I've seen a number of emails and statements that reflect the distress caused.

"But Ms McFadden is right - sentencing is independent and not based on public outrage.

"You did what you did to cause the maximum amount of distress and outrage.

"You accept your actions did not achieve what you wanted and that you want to find a better way to express your message - I am just about persuaded that I can suspend your sentence."

The memorial had been vandalised before when graffiti was sprayed on it in December 2021.

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

By the time he turned 100, he had raised more than £30m.

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