Regular visitors to this website may have read about photographer Marc Dewhurst and his recent experience outside court.

On that occasion, he was assaulted by a defendant he had “snatched” a picture of outside Derby magistrates court.

To read that story click here.

Marc said the experience had not put him off doing court snatches, but he may be revising his opinion after another clash outside the same court – and this time he didn’t even get a picture to show for it.

The Derby Evening Telegraph photographer tried to take a picture of a man who had appeared in court, but the defendant’s hood was pulled up over his face.

Marc was walking back to the office when he was tapped on the shoulder and the agitated man stood there making threats and demanding the film.

“I wasn’t too worried, because he was smaller then me – only about 5′ 4″ – but he kept on at me and kept jumping in my way,” said Marc (21).

The man insisted that Marc returned to the court and talked to his solicitor, so eventually Marc agreed.

The solicitor told his client that Marc had done nothing wrong, and suggested that he left the matter alone. But as Marc again tried to head back to the office, the man started up again with more unpleasant threats.

“I’d had enough, so I said ‘Right! We’ll go to the police then!’ and marched round the corner to the police station followed by this nutter who had now been joined by two women,” said Marc.

All hell broke loose at the reception desk of the police station with the defendant and the two women all yelling at the same time.

In the middle of the mayhem, Marc calmly rang the Telegraph’s chief photographer Stuart Wilde on his mobile phone to say “Can you give my next job to someone else, I think I could be a while”.

Stuart heard the commotion in the background and headed out to the police station. As he walked into reception, the sight of the 6′ 7″ chief photographer momentarily silenced the 5′ 4″ defendant.

But the man wasn’t in the mood for a rational discussion and ended up muttering “The bigger they come, the harder they fall”.

In the end, the police decided that Marc and Stuart should go out of the back door while the temperemental trio continued to rage in reception.

“The look on the man’s face when Stuart walked up to him was very funny,” said Marc. “But I have to admit I wouldn’t really like to run into this guy and his mates in the city one night. And I didn’t even get a useable picture anyway.”

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