Man accused of being Somerset gimp banned by court from wearing masks or wriggling on floor ahead of October trial

16 August 2023, 13:47

A man from Somerset accused of harassing women in a gimp suit has been banned from wriggling on the floor and from wearing BDSM gear ahead of a trial in October.

Joshua Hunt, 32, denies two Public Order Act charges of intentional harassment, alarm, or distress in relation to incidents allegedly committed on May 7 and May 9 in the Bleadon and Cleeve areas of Somerset.

Hunt, of Claverham, Somerset, was ordered to not "crawl, wriggle or writhe on the ground wearing a full-body covering or mask" or visit the areas where the offences are alleged to have taken place at an earlier hearing.

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Previous hearings have heard that female motorists driving at night reported to the police seeing a man in a black costume.

At a pre-trial hearing today, District Judge Angela Brereton fixed Hunt's trial for a half-day at Bristol Magistrates' Court on October 27.

Hunt was released on unconditional bail until his trial.

Hunt is also separately charged with one count of affray and one count of possession of a bladed article in Bleadon, near Weston-super-Mare, on May 9.

The 31-year-old is also accused of affray in relation to an incident there two days earlier and is also charged with outraging public decency in Cleeve on October 25 last year.

Hunt had previously been due to stand trial at Bristol Crown Court in November for a different charge.