Brit who entered woman’s Malaga flat is cleared of trespass after blaming extreme diarrhoea

A British tourist who entered a woman’s Malaga flat has been found not guilty of trespassing after blaming it on extreme diarrhoea.

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

The Manchester businessman made a dash for the loo once entering the apartment near the town centre after being taken ill while on a night out with friends.

When he did not reach the lavatory in time and soiled his trousers, he took a shower and rummaged through the homeowner’s wardrobe in her bedroom for something to wear.

The apartment’s horrified owner, who had been outside temporarily, heard the stranger in her home ‘without her consent’, and locked him in while she called the police, the 11th Malaga Court heard.

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

The unnamed Briton’s lawyer, Juan Carlos Alcazar, claimed it had been a simple misunderstanding.

He said his client had asked the homeowner – who does not speak English – for permission to use the loo and thought she had granted it.

She had briefly left her apartment on Calle Beatas to tell off a group of rowdy passers-by when the Briton asked to use the loo, he claimed.

Then while he was in the bathroom she locked the apartment door and refused 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.’