A man who terrified drivers by standing in the middle of a dark country lane wearing a shiny black full-body outfit and mask told a police officer: “I am not a gimp.”
Joshua Hunt, 32, from Claverham, north Somerset, has been found guilty of intending to cause harassment, alarm and distress to people by wearing a gimp suit at around midnight on May 7 and May 9.
The drivers and their passengers described feeling “sheer horror” at sight of the man standing in at night in Accomodation Road, Bleadon, north Somerset.
One woman passenger said she “immediately screamed and covered my eyes” on seeing Hunt, while another said their passenger let out a “scream from a horror movie”.
A young woman who saw Hunt “writhing and crawling” on the grassy verge of the road, said the black mask he was wearing had fluorescent “white crosses” drawn over the eyes. “I genuinely believed it could be an abduction attempt,” she said. “I was shaking with fright. I was having a borderline panic attack.” The women all said they no longer drive down the road at night because of their experience.
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Hunt, a gardener, was arrested near the road on May 9 and denied intending to cause harassment, alarm and distress to one woman on May 7 and two women on May 9.
Joshua Hunt accepted that he scared them but denied intending to do so. He said he was suffering a mental health crisis and wanted to kill himself by standing in the road.
Hunt told PC Declan Coppock, who was arresting him: “I am not a gimp, I don’t own a gimp suit, I’m not in a gimp suit ... I need mum.” He added: “You can take the cuffs off, I am not dangerous, I am a normal person but I have got a few problems. I need some help, basically.”
A search of Hunt’s car found wet black clothing, gloves, black tape and masks made of out women’s black tights with crosses drawn over the eyes with UV body crayons.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org
‘I am crying out for help’
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In a police interview, with his mother sitting with him as an appropriate adult, Hunt said: “I accept being the person stood in Accomodation Road. My mental health has deteriorated rapidly and I am in crisis.” He said his new antidepressants and a past trauma had triggered a suicidal episode.
“I was attempting to kill myself, I was not attempting to intimidate anybody,” he said in his statement. “I am crying out for help and would like help with my mental health.”
A search of his phone by police found multiple web searches over several months in 2022 for stories about “the Somerset gimp” and news articles about a man in a gimp suit who has been “terrorising” quiet villages by jumping out at people at night.
Hunt told the court his GP had prescribed him antidepressants, he had repeatedly called the Samaritans before May 7 and had been trying to get him mental health referral without success.
“Me and my mum tried to get counselling and mental health places and we pushed and pushed and pushed but the help just wasn’t coming, basically,” he said. The court was told Hunt called the Samaritans 19 times, with the last time being just hours before he was seen in a gimp suit around midnight on May 7.
‘I apologise greatly ... but never intended harm’
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Hunt said he went to Accomodation Road, which was a 30-minute drive from his home, and got changed into a black bodysuit to go “mudding”, where a person covers themselves in mud.
Hunt told the court he eventually didn’t go “mudding” but wanted a car to hit him and kill him. He said that in his suicidal state it never occurred to him that he could be frightening to anybody.
“I apologise greatly to these people and I agree what they saw would have frightened them but with my hand on my heart I never intended to cause those people harm or distress,” he said.
Robert Yates, for the prosecution, told the court: “People with poor mental health can form the necessary intention ... that outfit was not only all-black clothing but the face was drawn on in UV paint in order to be clearly visible to headlights. “People can have multiple intentions at any one time and one of his intentions was to alarm people on dark rural roads at night.”
Peter Richardson, for the defence, said Hunt was at “rock bottom” and was not thinking logically as he contemplated taking his life.
Ban on full-body covering
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District Judge Joanna Dickens found Hunt guilty of intending to cause harassment, alarm and distress. She told him: “The reason you were wearing the bizarre costume was you knew, and you intended, it would scare other people who saw it. I accept the whole of this was during a severely depressive episode combined with other intentions, perhaps to kill yourself.”
Hunt had already served a month in prison on remand after his arrest on more serious charges which were later dropped. He was fined £100 and will have to pay £200 compensation to the three female victims.
Hunt was given an interim sexual harm prevention order in July that bans him from wearing a mask or possessing one in a public place, or wearing black all-in-one clothing. He also must not crawl, wriggle or writhe on the ground wearing a full-body covering or mask.
