Man who broke into airport jailed for 25 days

A man who caused disruption at an airport after walking out on to a runway has been jailed for 25 days.

Russell Payne, 52, was arrested after twice breaking into Guernsey Airport in October 2025.

He was found guilty of two counts of trespass, assaulting an emergency service worker, resisting arrest and behaving in an indecent manner but not guilty of indecent exposure.

Sentencing at the Royal Court, Judge Marc Davies jailed Payne for 25 days in lieu of a £500 fine and handed him a two-month suspended sentence for assaulting an emergency service worker.

The judge stressed the trespassing caused disruption to a number of people around the airport.

Defending himself, Payne said he had gone into the airfield looking for a school sports field to go for a run and he did not know it was the airport due to a lack of signage.

The prosecution showed CCTV evidence of Payne walking across the airfield on 12 October without any underwear on.

He was also on the airfield the day before and Payne told the court he had ended up there during a walk he said helped him cope with severe sleep deprivation, poor living conditions and a chronic skin condition.

He said he believed the airfield was an unused sports field.

Security staff discovered Payne near the airport terminal at about 05:00 GMT before he was subsequently arrested.

Payne claimed airport staff who escorted him across the airfield on 12 October "goaded" him into continuing across the airfield.

He told the court he did not realise he was not clothed and it was "hugely embarrassing" for him.

"My only excuse is I was heavily sleep deprived I genuinely thought I had a pair of black running shorts on," he said.

Prosecuting, Crown Advocate Fiona Russell said Payne had deliberately entered the airfield and removed his trousers.

The judge found Payne not guilty of indecent exposure because it could not be proved he exposed his genitals with the intention to cause distress.

Speaking after the case, Guernsey Ports airport director Richard Thomasson said security arrangements had been reviewed.

He said: "Any incursion of the airport is a criminal offence, and any member of the public who attempts to illegally access the aerodrome will be liable for prosecution, as this case demonstrates.

"We have well-established aviation security arrangements and procedures in place, which are regularly tested to deal with such incidents. In this case, the guilty party was successfully intercepted on both occasions, as a result of our existing security provisions."

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