A suspected train fare dodger was sent to prison after insisting to a court in Carlisle that he was in fact Jesus Christ.
The court heard that the mystery man - who refused to give his real name - had failed to pay a £19.70 fare for his journey on a train service from Edinburgh Waverley to Carlisle.
He had been arrested by British Transport Police at Carlisle railway station on Monday night (14 September 2020), the city's magistrates heard.
The unidentified man, with a neatly trimmed beard, had to be led to the dock by court guards after appearing blindfolded, and wearing a black hood and T-shirt.
When asked by the clerk to identify himself, he replied: “Jesus Christ is here today. Who goes there?”
He twice refused to give his real name saying: “I am Jesus Christ here today; that is all that needs to be said.”
Following a ten minute hearing, District Judge Gerald Chalk sent the man to a cell to 'reflect on his actions', telling him that he was being held in contempt of court.
The Crown Prosecution Service has so far been unable to find any trace of him in their records, the court heard.
Security staff initially told District Judge Chalk that the man had refused to come to court to be judged.
For now, the man calling himself Jesus Christ remains in custody.
