Yob found guilty after hurling abuse at Usain Bolt at Olympics
A MAN who got into the Olympic Stadium without a ticket then threw a beer bottle at competitors lining up for the men's 100m final has been found guilty of public disorder.
Ashley Gill-Webb, 34, was suffering a "manic episode" when he used an old ticket to get into the Olympic Park and then the stadium, where he hurled abuse at Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt then threw a plastic beer bottle on to the track before the race on August 5.
Gill-Webb, from South Milford, near Leeds, was yesterday found guilty at Stratford Magistrates' Court, east London, of intending to cause 100m finalists harassment, alarm or distress by using threatening, abusive or disorderly behaviour, contrary to Section 4 of the Public Order Act, as well as an alternative charge contrary to Section 5 of the act.
Gill-Webb, who suffers from bipolar affective disorder, pushed his way to the front of an exclusive seating area at the stadium and started shouting: "Usain, I want you to lose. Usain, you are bad," Stratford Magistrates' Court heard last week.
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He then threw the plastic beer bottle as the race – which Bolt won in 9.63 seconds – started on August 5 last year.
The 34-year-old was confronted by Dutch judo champion Edith Bosch, then escorted from the stadium and arrested.
His lawyers argued that his mental state meant he could not have intended to cause harassment, alarm or distress, but the Crown said that, although he was unwell, he knew what he was doing.
The case was adjourned until February 4 at Thames Magistrates' Court for a pre-sentence report. He was granted conditional bail.
Comments
by OllyB1
Saturday, January 12 2013, 8:21PM
“Great security at the Olympics then. This man - without a valid ticket - manages to get close enough to the final of the main event to throw a bottle at the competitors!”