A Lincoln man has been cleared of smashing a historic Roman wall after the judge said he couldn’t be certain he was the culprit caught on CCTV.
More than £6,000 of damage was caused to the wall near City Hall on Beaumont Fee overnight between August 23 and 24, 2025.
Jason James, 46, of HMP Lincoln, pleaded not guilty to criminal damage, saying he had been in bed the entire night.
Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (September 10) saw CCTV footage which captured a man clawing stones from the monument, which belongs to the City of Lincoln Council, shortly after midnight.
Cameras tracked the man, who was wearing a dark top, blue jeans and white trainers, from City Hall to Portland Street.
However it ended nearly 500 metres (0.3 miles) from where Mr James was living at the time on Abbot Street.
When he was arrested on August 25, he was wearing similar clothing which the prosecution claimed was identical to those on the video.
They also said his “distinctive ears” matched those of the person on CCTV.
Mr James denied this, saying the footage was too poor quality to make any details out for certain.
Sophie Kitching, defending, said footage showing the person heading in the general direction of Mr James’ home was circumstantial.
“The footage doesn’t track him to his home address, it doesn’t show him entering. It ends 0.3 miles away.
“There are other streets the suspect could have taken, and hundreds of properties in that area he could have gone back to.”
Two police officers who had recently interacted with James had also failed to identify him from the CCTV footage.
Mr James told the court: “I went to bed at 10.30pm and never left until 9.30am the next morning for breakfast at Wetherspoons.
“I certainly did not cause the damage and have no idea who did.”
The court was told that Mr James didn’t appear to have any injuries to his hands, which might have been expected from digging at the stone wall.
District Judge Daniel Church said: “Other than the combination of clothing, there’s nothing particularly distinctive [about the person on CCTV.]
“I’ve spent time looking at the footage. The stills from the CCTV look similar to the defendant, but I can go no further than saying the person might be you – it also might not be. I must find you not guilty.”
The City of Lincoln Council described the damage as “a mindless act of vandalism” at the time.
The emergency work and restoration to the wall has cost £6,469.79 plus VAT to date.
By Jamie Waller (Local Democracy Reporter)
