Man jailed 24 hours after upskirting woman in London underground station

Plain clothes police officers caught Martin Stone, from Israel, filming up stranger’s skirt on escalator

Martin Stone, 62, from Israel, was jailed less than 24 hours after police caught him filming up a woman’s skirt in Bank underground station in London (British Transport Police)

A man caught filming up a stranger’s skirt during a visit to the UK was jailed less than 24 hours after committing the offence.

Plain clothes police officers spotted Martin Stone, 62, recording a woman while standing behind her on an escalator at Bank underground station in London.

An officer followed him out of the station and found him watching footage of the woman’s legs and skirt on his phone during the incident on 4 August.

He was arrested at the scene and officers seized two mobile phones, a spy camera pen, two oyster cards and one camera from his possession.

CCTV footage from Bank station also showed Stone following his victim around the premises.

He was held in custody overnight, before appearing at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court the following morning where he pleaded guilty to one count of voyeurism.

Stone, who was visiting from Israel, was sentenced to 10 days in prison, while the court also ordered all SIM and memory cards from his phones and cameras be destroyed.

In his police interview, Stone admitted he had covered the flash on his phone with Sellotape to avoid detection while he was recording the victim, but declined to answer if he received any sexual gratification from his behaviour.

Detective Chief Inspector Sarah White said: “Stone’s vile predatory behaviour is evident from his targeted actions and specialist equipment.

“Upskirting is a sickening invasion of privacy and this result sends a clear message on how quickly we will act against this disgusting form of sexual offending.

“We have plain clothes officers conducting patrols like this every day across network. Our officers are on the network looking out for you, whether you see them or not, and we will take action.

“I would urge anyone who is a victim of upskirting, or any other sexual offence, to text us discreetly on 61016 or call 999 in an emergency. No report is too small or too trivial, we will always take you seriously.”