Jobless woman urinated on war memorial in broad daylight TWICE in front of families
THE second time was on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme
A JOBLESS mother-of-five has been found guilty of TWICE urinating on a war memorial - once on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
Kelly Martin, 42, was first seen by a police officer relieving herself next to poppy wreaths but was then caught on camera committing the same disrespectful act just a month later.
Both incidents happened during broad daylight in front of bewildered members of the public at the top of the High Street in Grays, Essex.
Despite the shocking images previously emerging of Martin appearing to relieve herself on the monument on June 30, she denied two counts of outraging public decency.
She appeared at Basildon Magistrates' Court today to stand trial, where she also faced one charge of assaulting a paramedic and one charge of harassing him after throwing an empty glass bottle of Smirnoff vodka at his head.
Following a four-hour trial, the bench found her guilty on all counts.
PC James Shelton, a response officer from Grays, told the court he was "shocked" and "disgusted" when he spotted Martin urinating on the structure on April 13.
He was driving to an incident elsewhere in town when he got stuck in traffic and saw a crowd of 20 people looking at the cenotaph just 15 feet from his car.
PC Shelton said he saw mortified mothers and young children in the crowd looking at the memorial.
He added: "I followed their line of sight towards the cenotaph I saw a blonde female, around 40 years old, in front of the war memorial swaying.
"She was urinating as she stood in front of the cenotaph.
"She was crouching down ever so slightly and I could see a liquid falling to the floor."
PC Shelton said Martin was wearing denim shorts and pink leggings and a pair of black knickers which were around her ankles.
He described seeing poppy wreaths at the base of the monument where Martin was squatting.
He told the court she noticed him and she shouted "What the f*** are you looking at".
PC Shelton continued: "I could see she had a can of beer in one hand and she was now struggling with one hand to pull her trousers up."
When asked what his reaction was he said: "For me the war memorial is something that we need to remember in terms of the people who gave their lives for us, it is something we remember every year.
"I was disgusted someone could be so deliberately offensive towards it."
PC Shelton said he pulled over and approached Martin who launched into a foul-mouthed tirade.
The court heard Martin continued to be abusive to the officer as she stood in a puddle of her own making.
I could see she had a can of beer in one hand and she was now struggling with one hand to pull her trousers up
PC James Shelton
PC Shelton said: "She was aggressive, she was squaring up to me and I could smell the alcoholic drink she had been drinking."
Prosecutor Victoria Shehadeh told the court Martin later denied she had committed the act when interviewed by the police.
According to a summary of the interview regarding the April 13 incident Martin told officers "no I don't drink beer" when asked if she was drunk that day and denied any involvement in urinating on the memorial.
She told officers "I've never done a wee on a war memorial" but admitted she was an alcoholic and was regularly drinking in Grays town centre.
She also told officers that if her kids wanted to go in public she would just let them "whenever they wanted"
On the second occasion on June 30, Martin was caught on camera by Edward Cottee, a sales manager working in Grays.
Mr Cottee told the court he had seen Martin drinking from around 9.30am with a group of five or six people.
They were 30m away from his office window which overlooks the high street in clear view of the memorial.
He later described seeing her get up from where she was sitting near the monument and approach the cenotaph.
A disgusted Mr Cottee said "She sat up and walked to the war memorial, I saw her remove her trousers and squat down and urinate".
Mr Cottee who was hidden from Martin in court by a screen, said he was sure of what he had witnessed because "I physically saw the urine".
He told the court he recognised Martin who was wearing a red jumper and had her blonde hair up on the day in question as she was frequently seen drinking in the area.
Mr Cottee told the court he was so disgusted he took pictures of what was onfolding in front of him and sent them to a friend.
Shockingly the images show Martin urinating on the monument by poppy wreaths - placed there for the Somme commemorations.
Prosecutor Victoria Shehadeh summarised the case by saying "the evidence is simple, crisp and direct and in my submission more than sufficient to prove the case";.
She told the court: "This is a matter of common sense that urinating on a public monument which means so much to so many people is an act which outrages public decency."
She added that "drunkenness is not a defence that is a simple legal position here".
Miss Martin's defence solicitor Alison Gurden asserted Martin was too drunk to know what she was doing.
She asked the magistrates to consider each charge separately, and said: "We have a question whether or not she intended to urinate on the war memorial.
"We have heard nothing that Miss Martin intended to do so, all we know is she urinated on the edge of the cenotaph.
"She was drunk, the question is can she form the intention.
"There is nothing to indicate that she wanted to cause concern or outrage to anyone."
Miss Gurden also argued it was not clear that Martin was the woman pictured in the event of June 30.
She said: "All the photos are taken from the rear not from the front, thinking it could be her is not good enough.
"You need to be satisfied that you are sure that is Miss Martin in the picture."
Finding Martin guilty, Chairman of the magistrates' bench Stuart Cranmer said all the prosecution's witness were credible, accurate and reliable.
He said: "Having considered all the evidence were are satisfied Miss Martin intend to act in a way which outraged public decency."
He described her acts as "lewd", "disgusting" and "obscene".
Mr Cranmer said: "This offence really resonates with the local community, these acts outrage public decency."
Martin, who wore a green t-shirt, loose black trousers and a pink bracelet on her wrist, was told her case was to be adjourned to a later date for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
Martin was remanded in custody following the hearing and will next appear at Basildon Magistrates' Court on August 25.
A statement of impact regarding Kelly Martin's actions was presented to the bench by three members of UK Veterans One Voice and Veterans Radio Net.
It was directed to the chairman of the magistrates' bench and read: "I am writing to you on behalf of the members of the organisation of 'United Kingdom Veterans One Voice' and other members of the Veterans community; most, if not all, are both equally nauseated and disgusted by the antics of Kelly Martin on the day in question.
We feel that such a display of disrespect to our fallen brothers and sisters is a huge insult, not only to the fallen, but to their families who gave so much as well
UK Veterans One Voice
"These were not the actions of a drunken teenager on a night out celebrating exam finals, this was a coldly calculated loutish act, deliberate in its intention to both desecrate a memorial and insult those who had served the crown.
"More than one of our membership has been made to feel so I'll by the repugnant actions of Miss Martin that we have been concerned for their very lives.
"Former and serving servicemen and women keenly feel such insults, particularly ones so abhorrent as this, especially if they are also dealing with the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or mental health issues.
"We also call upon Kelly Martin to make a verbal and written statement of apology to the wider veteran community, stating her remorse for her actions and an undertaking never to set foot near a memorial again."