Naked statue climb man jailed

Tuesday, December 4, 2012
7:34 PM

A man who stripped naked on top of a statue in Whitehall before breaking off its sword and biting it has been jailed.

WARNING: The video on this page contains footage of a naked man

Dan Motrescu was convicted of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, causing criminal damage and a public order offence, a spokesman for Westminster Magistrates’ Court said.

He brought traffic to a standstill as he performed a variety of poses on the statue of Prince George, the Duke of Cambridge.

The 29-year-old Ukrainian, of no fixed abode, straddled the statue in front of hordes of onlookers and at times was seen balancing precariously on the Duke’s head.

A 100-metre stretch of Whitehall was cordoned off as emergency services tried to persuade him to come down during the incident on November 23.

Witnesses said he was clothed before he climbed to THE top of the statue.

He was also seen waving his arms around and was talking to crews on the ground as crowds of onlookers gathered at either end of the cordon.

Motrescu was given a 12-week jail sentence for possession of an offensive weapon and a three-week sentence for criminal damage, to run concurrently, a court official said. No penalty was given for the public order offence.