A MAN has been fined after defecating at a council building.

Garry Coleman, 55, of no fixed address, was caught on CCTV on Monday, May 12, at the entrance to the Selby District Council offices in Market Cross, Selby. The mess, covered with toilet tissue, was found by a council employee later that morning when she arrived to open the council offices.

An investigation was launched by the council, which initially said they suspected the suspect “holds a grudge” against the authority, and had “deliberately targeted the area”.

Following the release of CCTV images to The Press, inquiries led to Coleman, and he was interviewed under caution in June. He admitted the offence, but denied the act was a dirty protest. He told the council he had been unwell and was sorry.

At York Magistrates’ Court, Coleman was fined £37, ordered to pay £140 council costs, and a £20 victim surcharge.

Tim Grogan, the council’s senior enforcement officer, said: “Considering the council had very little evidence to go on it is a feather in our cap to get a conviction.” He said staff had been “unnerved and repulsed” by what happened.