South Shields gym-goer in court after using Queen Street as a toilet

A gym-goer who needed the loo on his way home ended up in court after using a backstreet as a toilet.
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Four Hall, 34, stood and urinated in an alleyway in the early hours in South Shields town centre.

Hall, of Warkworth Avenue, South Shields, was caught short after pumping iron at 1.20am on Sunday, May 30.

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But police saw him slip into a cut off Queen Street to relieve himself, prosecutor Becky Slade told magistrates in South Tyneside.

Police spotted the defendant in Queen Street.Police spotted the defendant in Queen Street.
Police spotted the defendant in Queen Street.

She claimed Hall urinated against the wall of a business.

Hall disputed the allegation in his defence, insisting he had aimed at – and hit – only a drain.

Ms Slade said: “Two officers were on patrol in the town centre when they observed the defendant, who they knew.

“They saw him walk into a rear lane on Queen Street. They could see him standing in the lane, urinating on the wall of a business property.

“He was not drunk, he appeared sober.”

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The court heard Hall committed the offence while subject to an 18-month community order for a stalking offence.

It was imposed in June 2020 and runs until December 9.

Hall, who pleaded guilty to a charge of urinating in a street, defended himself in court.

He told magistrates he had been doing a late-night gym workout and had needed the toilet.

He said: “I wasn’t urinating against a wall, it was into a drain.

“I wasn’t out that night, I was at the gym. I had a 45-minute walk home.

“I couldn’t get into a bar and there were no toilets open.”

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Hall, who the court heard has 40 previous convictions from 70 offences, was fined £45 and must pay a £85 court costs and a £34 victim surcharge.

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