Image source, Avon and Somerset Police Image caption,

Hunt was fined £100 and ordered to pay £200 compensation to each of his victims and £620 prosecution costs

By Jonathan Holmes, Clara Bullock & PA News

BBC News

A man has been found guilty of causing intentional harassment, alarm or distress after scaring female motorists while dressed in a gimp suit.

Joshua Hunt, 32, of Claverham, was seen by one woman writhing around on the ground, while another said she was left shaking and crying after an encounter.

Bristol Magistrates' Court heard the incidents took place on 7 and 9 May in Bleadon, Somerset.

Hunt, a self-employed gardener, had denied the allegations.

He was fined £100 and ordered to pay £200 compensation to each of his victims and £620 prosecution costs.

Image source, Handout Image caption,

There have been several reports of the "Somerset Gimp", including this one in 2019

Hunt was arrested minutes after the second incident, and is said to have told police: "I am not a gimp - I do not own a gimp suit. I am not in a gimp suit."

In a written statement, motorist Lucy Lodge said she had "never seen anything like this before".

She said she believed she was going to be abducted and it left her feeling scared and unable to sleep.

Image source, Avon and Somerset Police Image caption,

Hunt told police during an interview that his mental health had been in "crisis" over problems with his medication

Ms Lodge was driving home along Accommodation Road in Bleadon when she said she saw something moving on the ground.

"He was writhing and crawling as if in a military fashion," she said.

"I could see the person was wearing very tight, dark clothing and had a mask on their face. The mask was dark and very tight and two white crosses where the eyes should be."

She said her first thought was "it could be a possible abduction".

"It was terrifying although I had only seen them for a few seconds," she said.

"The whole incident felt so surreal, and I was questioning myself about what I was seeing.

"When I got home I was breathing heavily and I was having a borderline panic attack."

Martin Mills, a passenger in a vehicle driving in the area at the same time as Ms Lodge, said he saw a man "commando crawling" on the floor.

"I can see they were all in black and shiny and the car lights were reflecting off him," he said.

Just 24 hours later - shortly after midnight on 9 May - Samantha Brown was driving from work with her sister-in-law and another colleague and said she saw a man dressed all in black with a face mask.

"When I saw them my sister-in-law screamed. I had to speed up to get past them and he jumped to the side of my car," she said in a statement.

"When I saw the person I felt sheer horror.

"I was scared by this person - anything could have happened and they had their hands behind their back and they could have been holding anything."

Following reports of the second incident, police went to Bleadon and stopped a white Berlingo van reversing in a field.

Image source, Avon and Somerset Police Image caption,

Neon white paint was used for drawing faces on masks

The court heard PC Declan Coppock spoke to Hunt, who was wearing grey trousers and a black hooded top, and arrested him.

"I noticed his skin was extremely wet and damp - suggesting he had been lying on the side of the road," the officer said.

He said that Hunt told him: "I am not dangerous, I am a normal person, I have got a few problems."

A search found Hunt was not wearing a T-shirt or any underwear and inside his van was a collection of wet black clothing, women's tights, face masks and gloves.

There was also neon white paint used for drawing on a mask.

Officers also found a journal in which Hunt had written a story about someone called Jack who purchases a black rubber suit and mask with white paint on.

He had also done internet searches in 2022 and 2023 about the "Somerset Gimp" and the "Gimp of Cleeve", the court heard.

'Traumatic state of mind'

Hunt told police during an interview that his mental health had been in "crisis" over problems with his medication.

"I am crying out for help and need help with my mental health," he said.

Hunt told the court he had been in a "very traumatic state of mind" in May.

"I hated myself with the way I looked and the way I am and everything about me," he told the court.

He explained he would go out at night and change into black clothing to go "mudding" - where his "self-loathing" would cause him to cover himself in mud.

"I apologise to those people," he said. "I agree what I was doing was frightening but hand on my heart I never intended to cause them harassment, alarm or distress."

District Judge Joanna Dickens said she accepted Hunt had already spent a month on remand in prison prior to his trial.

This, she said, was a bigger punishment than any sentence she could impose.

"I accept that you have already received punishment and spent time in prison and lost your good character in a very public way and no doubt affecting you for the remainder of your life," she added.

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Related Topics

Bleadon

Weston-super-Mare

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