Criminals come in all shapes and forms but they usually talk during interrogation, or at least offer an obligatory ‘no comment’. But not this man.
Known as the ‘Silent Man’, David Hampson has wrecked havoc on the Swansea commuter community with his incessant road blockages.
Hampson’s penchant for standing in the middle of a roach to block traffic has landed him in jail multiple times, but he just keeps doing it.
Apparently, the 53-year-old is totally mute as he commits the offence, during the police interview and even at court.
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Many believe that he’s staging a one-man protest against traffic, but his brother has another theory.
In his last conviction at Swansea Crown Court, he blocked De La Beche Street last December just a stone’s throw away from Swansea Central Police Station.
John, Hampson’s brother, believes that this is all just a ploy to get free accommodation and food.
John told The Sun: “He's not really mute. He never stops talking. It is quite simple really. He's a spoiled brat.
“There is nothing like a protest going on. He just does it to have a comfy life inside prison.”
Hampton, of no fixed address, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison in 2021 after the jury found he was 'mute of malice' not 'mute by visitation of God'.
Judge Paul Thomas previously scolded the man and told him he had 'breath-taking arrogance and insolence'.
After being released, Hampton continued to block the roads three more times and was sent back to prison.
Lucy Mansfield, who was prosecuting Hampson, said: “Police advised him to leave the area but he went straight back into the road and so was arrested.”
He was charged with obstructing the highway but refused to speak at the dock.
Hampson was later sentenced to six months in prison and will serve up to half the sentence in custody.
Since being first convicted in 2014, he subsequently was arrested in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
A judge ordered for Hampson to undergo a psychiatric report due to his behaviour but he refused to speak to the doctors.
The doctor went on to claim that his mute status was 'selective and deliberate' and that there is a possibility of social or financial 'stresses' which have contributed to his choice to not speak.
John said: “There is nothing wrong with him. He acts dumb but I can tell you that he is not.”
Britt Jones