Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Zoe Tidman

‘Fixated’ Buckingham Palace intruder who trespassed on grounds twice spared jail

PA Wire

A man who trespassed on Buckingham Palace grounds twice has been spared prison.

Daniel Brydges scaled two fences to gain access to the Palace gardens on December 18 last year and was also found “stooped” behind a Land Rover near The Royal Mews gate four days later, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.

Prosecutor Sudara Weerasena said the 33-year-old had previously been stopped under the Terrorism Act while trying to get into the Palace grounds on December 11 and twice on November 15 last year.

“He appears to have been fixated on the Palace grounds,” she said on Wednesday.

Brydges, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of trespassing on a protected site and criminal damage – after damaging a barbed wire fence during the first incident.

District Judge Annabel Pilling sentenced him to 12 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and said he must not go within 100m of a royal residence.

The sentence includes mental health treatment and rehabilitation requirements, while Brydges, who is claiming benefits, must pay £748 in costs and other charges.

Queen Elizabeth was away from the palace during both incidents (PA Wire)

“It is worrying that it is still not clear what your motivation was,” the judge told him. “This was a very serious security breach.

“There was a suggestion you were fixated somehow by the Palace or by members of the royal family. You were persistent and determined.”

The late Queen was at Windsor Castle on both occasions when Brydges trespassed at Buckingham Palace.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.