Guernsey Press

‘I shed a tear at call from police’

‘I SHED a tear.’ That was the reaction of Nigel Simon after police contacted the Guernseyman who is battling to clear his name for a crime he says he did not commit.

Published
Nigel Simon has always maintained his innocence and wants to know who vandalised Castel Cemetery in 1985 an offence for which he was sentenced to one year in borstal. (26180287)

Mr Simon, who has offered a £10,000 reward to anyone with information that could help clear his name, was 16 when he was found guilty of damaging ‘35 headstones in six to eight minutes’ at Castel Church cemetery in the summer of 1985.

Mr Simon, who served a one-year sentence in borstal for the offence, has always maintained his innocence – and has been ‘bowled over by the positive messages’ after going public with his appeal for answers.

In a further update on his appeal, Mr Simon – who now lives in the UK - said: ‘I got a call from Guernsey Police to tell me that I am able to provide a statement to Dorset Police and that there was a case officer assigned until Christmas time.

‘I was ecstatic to tell you the truth and did not expect this at all. The police were very nice on the phone and have gone some way to restoring my faith in them after all these years.

‘I am not ashamed to say I shed a tear at the news.’

The speed of the reaction to his plea has been very positive for Mr Simon, who had been given legal advice that the police could take up to three months to respond.

‘I always said if I won the lottery I would do something about this. I have always known what went on and have always wanted to do something, but what do you do?

‘I lost a lot of faith and hopefully this can slowly be restored. So it is all positive news at the moment really,’ said Mr Simon, who added that he did not expect things to get this far at all.

A Bailiwick Law Enforcement spokesman said: ‘An outside force close to where Mr Simon lives will be offering him the opportunity to provide a statement. We cannot comment further until this has happened.’

Dorset Police confirmed that it was the force which Bailiwick Law Enforcement was referring to.