A hotel director who had attended a wellness retreat in Cornwall ended up in court after he drunkenly urinated on fruit and vegetables outside a village shop, then drove off while over the legal alcohol limit.
Matthew Howarth, from Windermere in the Lake District, travelled to Bude for a retreat but later made his way to the nearby village of Stratton. There, his actions quickly turned from bizarre to criminal.
Security footage from Stratton Stores showed the intoxicated hotel boss relieving himself on crates of parsnips, potatoes, and nectarines that were being kept in dry storage next to the shop. He was arrested soon after for drink driving in a Ford Ranger, testing at more than twice the legal alcohol limit.
Truro Magistrates’ Court found him guilty of criminal damage and driving under the influence. The court fined him £2,237, which included £42 to compensate for the ruined produce, and disqualified him from driving for nearly four years—46 months—due to a previous drink-driving conviction within the last decade.
David Shepherd, who manages the village shop, said he was first alerted to the man’s presence by concerned employees. Howarth had left the retreat and been seen wandering through the village after reportedly consuming gin at a local pub.
Speaking to MailOnline, David said: “He came into the shop drunk. My team called me because they felt uneasy and wanted to shut the shop. Earlier, he was hanging around the local hair salon, talking nonsense and slurring his words.”
By the time David arrived, Howarth had already left in a vehicle. Worrying about the risk he posed on the road, David followed him while calling the police.
“I saw him swerving all over, stopping suddenly, switching lanes, and even driving on the wrong side,” David said. “He eventually turned into a dead-end street where officers managed to intercept and arrest him.”
After police took Howarth into custody, David reviewed the shop’s CCTV footage to see whether the staff had been harassed. What he found was shocking—Howarth had urinated on the shop’s stored produce. “He could have used the pub toilet or a nearby public restroom just 50 metres away. But instead, he went behind the shop in broad daylight and peed on everything,” David said.
The vegetables, which were to be placed on sale later, had appeared we, —but staff had no idea the cause until the footage was reviewed. “Thankfully, we checked. We could have sold those items without realising,” David added.
In court, Howarth, who is a father of two, admitted the offences and told magistrates he had not consumed alcohol since the incident.
“I struggle with drinking. The retreat didn’t help as I’d hoped. I fully accept responsibility and apologise,” he said.
But the court did not hold back in its condemnation. A Justice of the Peace described his actions as “utterly vile,” adding, “This is one of the most revolting things we’ve seen in this courtroom. People were visibly disgusted by your behaviour. We don’t want visitors treating our county like this.”
David echoed those sentiments, stating Howarth had disrespected the community and would not be welcome back. “He should have treated this place with the same respect as his home. I won’t be letting him into the shop again,” he said.
