A CONTRITE Christmas reveller turned himself in to police after falling from the top of the town's war memorial, damaging the structure and injuring himself in the process. The 27-year-old man from Tooting presented himself to police on December 29. He was cautioned for the offence. The man has also contacted Haslemere Mayor Brian Howard, who told The Herald: "He contacted me to apologise and he clearly stated his intention to pay towards the damages. He was absolutely mortified by what he did. He has suffered personal injury, which means he will be on crutches for the next couple of months or so." The incident happened in the early hours of Christmas Day, when the town was busy with revellers celebrating the start of the festive season. Surrey Police received a report at 1-15 am of a group of people causing a disturbance outside The Swan Inn in the High Street. Officers who went to the scene found a man who had suffered a head and foot injury. He was taken by ambulance to The Royal Surrey County Hospital for treatment. The cross from the top of the war memorial was found to have been damaged in the incident. It is estimated it will cost around £1,500 to repair. A concerned Haslemere resident, who did not wish to be named, told The Herald: "My son was near the scene and saw the man fall backwards off the memorial and hit his head on the floor - he took the top of the war memorial with him. "My annoyance is how stupid that the council did not have the foresight, now that there are extended drinking hours, that the war memorial was not barricaded before Christmas - it's asking to be climbed." Mr Howard told The Herald the war memorial was the centre of attention even during the 1960s, when the police used to board it up every New Year's Eve. This year the council put a notice to warn revellers of the danger of climbing on the structure. The memorial, a listed historic monument, was recently restored with cash donated by English Heritage and Haslemere Herald proprietor Sir Ray Tindle. Donations from private individuals and companies in the town helped pay for the work, which was completed in time for this year's Remembrance Day service.
