Man fined £500 for wearing fake admiral uniform and medals on Remembrance Sunday

A man has been fined £500 after he admitted wearing a fake admiral's uniform and service medals at a Remembrance Sunday service in north Wales.

Jonathan Carley, 65, from Harlech in Gwynedd, appeared in naval uniform at a Remembrance Sunday service in Llandudno on 9 November, where he wore medals he bought online, including ones for service in Iraq and Syria.

He appeared at Llandudno Magistrates' Court charged with wearing uniform or dress bearing the mark of His Majesty's Forces without permission. He pleaded guilty to the charge.

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The court heard that Carley told police he wanted a sense of "belonging and affirmation". 

When he was arrested on 14 November, after a photograph of him at the service went viral on social media, he told officers: "I've been expecting you."

Prosecutor Jams Neary said the Remembrance service had been well attended and Carley had been allowed to take part alongside other attendees.

He said: "The defendant was allowed to lay a wreath. He did so, he saluted and stood among other dignitaries."

Carley told police the naval uniform had been legitimately issued to him when he was in the cadets, but that he had rear admiral rings added by a tailor and had bought the medals online.

District Judge Gwyn Jones fined Carley £500 and ordered him to pay £85 towards prosecution costs and a £200 surcharge. 

He told him: "It's a sad reflection upon you that you chose to do such a thing on a very difficult day for so many."