9:00am Monday 30th March 2009
By Ben Parsons, Crime Reporter
A chef banned from Gatwick after living at the airport for five years has been arrested for returning to his old haunt - even though he now has a place to live.
Anthony Delaney, 44, was dubbed Terminal Man after he lost his job in 2004 and began sleeping, eating and showering at the airport’s South Terminal.
Delaney was handed an antisocial behaviour order (Asbo) in 2004 but refused to stay away, breaching the order and getting arrested more than 30 times.
He was jailed for 15 months in June last year and following his release moved into a rented home in Woking, Surrey.
But after visiting friends in Crawley last week he went back to Gatwick - apparently unable to resist the lure of the airport.
He was arrested within minutes of arriving, telling police - who know him by sight - “Just arrest me”.
He was charged with breaching his Asbo and remanded in custody to be sentenced at Lewes Crown Court.
At a hearing at Crawley Magistrates’ Court, Geoff White, defending, said: “This was unbelievably foolish.
"Mr Delaney is an unusual man who takes unusual decisions.
"This is probably the most foolish I have ever seen."
In an echo of the movie “The Terminal” starring Tom Hanks, Lewes Crown Court was told in February last year how Delaney got trapped in a “cycle of misfortune” after losing his £80,000-a-year job as a chef.
His lawyer at that hearing, Peter Knight, explained how Delaney found himself homeless.
He said: "He doesn't go there to kick up a stink or be a nuisance. He just needs somewhere he can have a shower.
"He found it difficult to support himself or find a new job without a permanent address. He started using the airport facilities out of sheer desperation."
Mr Knight said that Delaney, who had no drink, drug or mental problems, ended up at the airport after being arrested because he had nowhere else to go.
In February Judge Richard Hayward freed the serial Asbo breacher telling him that prisons were full - but said that if he breached the order again he would be put behind bars.
In June last year he breached the order and was jailed for 15 months by the same judge, who told him he had no choice given the previous warning.
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