Drunken M1 stunt led to armed police response
Man tells court: ‘I didn’t realise how serious it was’
A SHEPSHED man who climbed a motorway gantry near East Midlands Airport, causing long traffic delays and an armed police response, told magistrates he “didn’t realise how serious it was”.
Philip Jones, of Market Place, Shepshed, was walking home from a shift in a bar and, after having drank nine pints, he decided to climb on to an M1 gantry.
The 31-year-old told the court that he wanted to see “how high it was”.
As Jones crossed over the motorway bridge at 5am on Monday, August 20, he saw the information sign and decided to climb it. Once at the top, he said he considered jumping off and taking his life.
More than a dozen motorists called 999 and six armed police were sent to the scene to get him down from the sign at junction 23 of the motorway.
The police had to close the motorway in both directions for 15 minutes, causing long traffic delays.
After being persuaded to come down, Jones was taken into custody. He admitted everything in a police interview and was charged with causing a public nuisance.
Jones pleaded guilty to the offence at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (September 6).
Prosecutor Sukhdev Singh Bisma said: “Police began receiving calls regarding a male sat on an information sign. The M1 had to be closed for 15 minutes with Monday morning traffic building up substantially on both sides.
“The defendant stated he was working at a bar in Loughborough and when he had finished he had consumed nine pints.
“He passed the gantry while walking home. He said he was curious as to how high it was.
“It was only when he got up he thought about jumping off. He said he had suffered from depression and had felt like this for a few years.
“He stated this happened spontaneously and he had not given thought to the disruption it would cause.”
Mr Bisma asked the magistrates to bear in mind the disruption caused to motorists as well as the police time taken up by the incident.
He said: “There were four staff on duty in the police control room receiving 14 calls. The call handlers were unable to deal with other calls, putting other members of the public at risk.
“Six armed officers attended, as well as two unarmed officers who took the defendant to the police station. An hour and 20 minutes of their time was utilised dealing with this incident.”
Jones decided to represent himself at the hearing, telling the court he had been offered a chance to speak to a duty solicitor but did not want to.
When asked by the court clerk what he wanted to tell the magistrates in his defence he said: “I apologise. What the prosecutor has said is how it was - I held my hands up straight away to it and that’s what I’ve come here today to do.”
The court heard that causing a public nuisance could lead to a life sentence in the most severe cases and magistrates decided their sentencing powers were not enough and sent the case to Leicester Crown Court.
Jones was urged by the clerk to get legal advice for the next hearing, on September 27.
He replied: “I will. I didn’t realise how serious it was.”