Briton who broke into a woman’s flat in Malaga is cleared of trespassing after blaming extreme diarrhea

A British tourist who broke into a woman’s flat in Malaga has been found not guilty of trespassing after attributing it to extreme diarrhoea.

The 55-year-old told the trial in Spain that his desperation meant he had to use the shower and find something to wear.

The Manchester businessman ran to the bathroom once he entered the apartment near the city center after falling ill during a night out with friends.

When she didn’t make it to the bathroom in time and soiled her pants, she showered and rummaged through the hostess’s wardrobe in her bedroom for something to wear.

The owner of the apartment, who had been away temporarily, heard the stranger in her house “without her consent” and locked him up while she called the police, according to what the 11th Court of Malaga heard.

Prosecutors had demanded a one-year jail sentence and a €500 (£427) fine for the trespassing in October 2021, but the man was cleared of the trespassing charge yesterday.

The 55-year-old businessman jumped into the bathroom in an apartment near Beatas street (general view of the street)

The British’s anonymous lawyer, Juan Carlos Alcázar, stated that it had been a simple misunderstanding.

He said that his client had asked the owner of the house, who does not speak English, for permission to use the bathroom and he thought she had granted it.

She had briefly left her Beatas Street apartment to berate a group of rowdy passersby when the Briton asked to use the bathroom, she claimed.

Then, while he was in the bathroom, she locked the apartment door, refusing to let him out until the police arrived.

A jury accepted his explanation at the hearing and found him not guilty.

His lawyer, Mr Alcazar, said: “He is a gentleman who has been congratulated on numerous occasions by the British government for his contributions to charitable causes.”