Newport: Nothing hateful in stickers, says arrested woman

Gwent Police said it had received called about posters containing allegedly offensive material in Newport

A woman arrested for posting stickers said to be directed towards the transgender community claims they said "nothing hateful".

Jennifer Swayne, 53, from Newport said she did put up the posters, which she described as feminist.

She told BBC Wales her arrest was "absolutely ridiculous".

Gwent Police said it had received six calls between October and January about posters in Newport containing allegedly offensive material.

The force has confirmed a 53-year-old woman from Newport was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress and was later released on conditional bail.

'I was pretty horrified'

Ms Swayne, who describes herself as a feminist activist, said Gwent Police removed an "academic book", "hundreds of stickers" and "loads of notes" from her home when it was searched.

The former teacher said: "It's like the bloody Stasi, it's terrible, absolutely terrible. I was pretty horrified".

The force said: "Officers attended the woman's address and conducted a search after arrest. Further items, including stickers and posters were also seized."

Ms Swayne said the posters and stickers were for "education purposes" and she listed at least 13 types.

She added: "Not one of them mentions anything horrible about any particular group."

The Gwent force said it was aware of a yellow sticker on social media which states "3 women are killed by men each week" and "domestic violence kills".

Rheumatoid arthritis

The force said the woman was not arrested in relation to this sticker and its contents, but said it could not confirm the content, as this falls into an active investigation. But it said: "The content of the stickers is directed towards the transgender community."

Ms Swayne said she was out on her mobility scooter "putting up some stickers and posters" in the Pillgwenlly area of Newport when several police officers said they were "detaining" her.

She said: "I tried to drive away on my mobility scooter", but officers "stopped her".

"I admitted I put up a poster," she added.

However, she said she told officers she had said "nothing hateful."

She said she "did not co-operate with police" and was "crammed into a van" which she said was bad for her rheumatoid arthritis.

Released from custody

Gwent Police said: "The woman was arrested at 2.39pm on Sunday 23 January and was released from custody after interview at 3.23am on Monday 24 January.

"The woman was released from custody in accordance with police guidelines. Upon release, the woman was offered transport for both herself and her mobility scooter but declined and chose to make her own way home".

Ms Swayne said she was offered a van to take her home, but that it was not available for an hour, so she said she would make her own way home.

On Wednesday, Gwent Police said it had issued guidance to people not to remove posters in Newport "after sharp objects had been found behind them".

Ms Swayne said: "I certainly did not do it."

She added she had been told to return to speak to the police in a month.