Man spared jail over Buckingham Palace trespasses

A man who was “fixated” on accessing royal grounds has been handed a suspended prison sentence after twice trespassing at Buckingham Palace.

Daniel Brydges scaled two fences to gain access to the Palace gardens on December 18 last year and was also found “stooped” behind a Land Rover near The Royal Mews gate four days later, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.

Prosecutor Sudara Weerasena said the 33-year-old had previously been stopped under the Terrorism Act while trying to get into the Palace grounds on December 11 and twice on November 15 last year.

“He appears to have been fixated on the Palace grounds,” she said on Wednesday.

Brydges, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of trespassing on a protected site and criminal damage – after damaging a barbed wire fence during the first incident.

District Judge Annabel Pilling sentenced him to 12 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and said he must not go within 100m of a royal residence.

The sentence includes mental health treatment and rehabilitation requirements, while Brydges, who is claiming benefits, must pay £748 in costs and other charges.

“It is worrying that it is still not clear what your motivation was,” the judge told him.

“This was a very serious security breach.

“There was a suggestion you were fixated somehow by the Palace or by members of the royal family.

“You were persistent and determined.”

The late Queen was at Windsor Castle on both occasions when Brydges trespassed at Buckingham Palace.