A man who claimed to be Jesus Christ appeared at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court this week, charged with skipping a train fare.
The bearded man appeared from custody on Tuesday to face a charge of refusing to pay a £19-70 train fare on the West Coast main line on Monday, 14th September.
He refused to provide any name other than Jesus Christ and an address of The Yellow House, Albion, Mauritius.
Having blindfolded himself to be brought into the dock, he asked the legal clerk “Who goes there?” and told the court that in his role as Jesus Christ — a title he said superseded anyone else in the court — it was his responsibility to check the infrastructure of the railway.
After three appearances in court on Tuesday, during which the man refused to provide any other identity, he was charged with wilfully misbehaving in court — an offence under the Contempt of Court Act 1981 — and remanded in custody overnight.
On Wednesday, he appeared back in court and was found guilty of the railway offence.
He was sentenced to one day in prison and freed, after taking into account his time served in custody. The contempt of court charge was dropped.
Court records have since revealed that the defendant’s father later contacted the court and identified him as 34-year-old Matthew Dominic Holbrook.
