SWNSA group of men have appeared in court after being charged with stripping on a train, before throwing poo at each other which then hit a female passenger.
The six men, aged between 21 and 27, allegedly discussed their sexual exploits loudly during the incident, while also asking fellow passengers to expose themselves.
All six men were travelling between Bath Spa station in Somerset and Chippenham, Wiltshire on July 11 last year when the alleged incident occurred.
SWNSThe group allegedly ‘defecated in a public area on the train, before throwing faeces around and hitting a female passenger’ with it.
Each appeared at Swindon Crown Court yesterday (March 15), and face one charge of doing an act of outraging public decency while travelling on the train. Outraging public decency is a common law charge which carries an unlimited prison sentence or unlimited fine.
The charges also make reference to the group’s discussion of their sexual exploits within hearing of other passengers; as well as this, the group are also charged with removing items of their own clothing and using abusive language towards passengers, including requesting passengers to expose themselves.
SWNSJosh Dolman, 26, of Calne, Wiltshire and Edward McCormack, 25, of Chippenham, both pleaded not guilty to the charges on Friday (March 18). The two men were released from court on bail and will face trial on July 1.
Of the other four men, two – Alistair Ellis, 25, and Andrew McCabe, 27, both from Chippenham – did not enter any pleas to the charges and are due back in court on May 9.
The remaining two – Toby Clarke, 22, of Whaddon, Wiltshire, and Bobby Clifford, 21, of Chippenham – previously pleaded guilty at Swindon Crown Court. They will appear back at Swindon Crown Court to be sentenced at a later date.
A seventh man, Dominic Patten, 21, from Chippenham, is scheduled to appear via video link at Swindon Magistrates Court on Thursday (March 21).
He was unable to appear in court this week as he is currently studying at university in the United States.
There are reporting restrictions on the charges Patten faces.
Update
As reported by the Salisbury Journal, charges against all but two of the men accused have since been dropped owing to a lack of evidence.
Toby Clarke and Bobby Clifford still face sentencing after Clarke admitted defecating on the train, while Clifford is reported to have accepted responsibility for throwing the faeces.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).