A PLUMBER who defecated in the back of a police van while he was being taken to hospital has been ordered to pay cleaning costs.
Liam McDonagh, 37, was arrested in Clacton on a separate matter but was being taken to Colchester Hospital because he was drunk and had sustained a head injury.
He asked for officers to loosen his handcuffs but police refused to do so while the van was on the A120, Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard.
Sarah Thompson, prosecuting, said: “He was told he had to wait – he didn’t like that answer.
“He stood up, took his trousers off, and said, ‘I’m going to **** in the back of the van.
“He then urinated in the van and was arrested at that point.
“The rest of the drive, he is said to have been presenting his buttocks and rubbing them on the divide of the holding cage.”
After arriving at Colchester Hospital, officers asked for McDonagh to be treated in the van by nurses so he didn't pose a threat to other patients.
Ms Thompson said McDonagh then defecated in the van and “proceeded to smear this all over the cage area, rendering the van unusable and it being required to have a deep clean”.
McDonagh, of Paulhan Road, Harrow, admitted one charge of criminal damage.
Appearing in court unrepresented, he said he was suffering from delirium at the time because he was dehydrated and could not remember the incident.
He said: “I was jumped in the pub – the police arrested me for no reason.
“I had a bad head injury and I asked if I could go to the toilet.
“I was taken to hospital and diagnosed with delirium because I was so dehydrated.
“The sweat was pouring off my nose and I was bursting for the toilet.”
He also told magistrates the offence was out of character for him.
Magistrates fined McDonagh £533 and ordered him to pay a £213 victim surcharge.
He must also pay £85 in costs and £150 in compensation to Essex Police for the cleaning of the police van.
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