26-Year-Old Wearing Hooded Robe and Carrying Scythe Caused 50-Minute Disturbance in Wales
A man dressed in a Grim Reaper costume climbed onto the roof of a Welsh hospital and stared at patients below. Leon Gillespie, from Deganwy, stood on the rooftop of Ysbyty Glan Clwyd hospital in St Asaph for 50 minutes before police and firefighters brought him down. The photo is currently circulating on Facebook.
He was arrested and later pleaded guilty to causing a nuisance or disturbance on NHS premises. The June 6 incident, captured in a photograph showing the costumed figure silhouetted against the sky, has since circulated widely. Gillespie received a £200 fine and was ordered to pay additional costs.
A Disturbance That Lasted Nearly an Hour
Witnesses reported seeing a figure in an all-black hooded robe standing on the flat roof above the hospital entrance. The outfit, described by some as a Grim Reaper costume, included a long blade or scythe-like object. Gillespie later told the court it was a crow costume.
He stood overlooking the entrance, making noise and staring at staff, visitors, and patients below. The hospital’s windows, some illuminated, revealed silhouettes of people inside. Emergency services responded with four police cars and a fire service vehicle.
The duration of the incident lasted roughly 50 minutes. So, it required coordination between North Wales Police and North Wales Fire and Rescue Service to bring Gillespie down safely. He was arrested and charged with causing a nuisance or disturbance without reasonable excuse on NHS premises.
The Legal Consequences
Gillespie appeared at Llandudno Magistrates’ Court, where he pleaded guilty. The charge specifically cited causing a nuisance or disturbance to an NHS staff member without reasonable excuse, other than for obtaining medical advice, treatment, or care, and refusing to leave when asked by a constable.
He received a £200 fine and was ordered to pay £50 in compensation, £100 in fines, and £100 in costs to the Crown Prosecution Service. The financial penalty reflected the summary nature of the offence at magistrates’ court level.
At the same hearing, Gillespie admitted two separate shoplifting offences: taking £30 to £40 of cat food and cat litter from Pets at Home in Llandudno on March 26, and food and drink from a Sainsbury’s in Llandudno on May 28. Both incidents occurred earlier this year. No explanation or motive for the roof incident was provided in court.
The Hospital’s Response
Ysbyty Glan Clwyd is a district general hospital in St Asaph, operated under the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, the largest health board in Wales. The hospital serves a wide population in North Wales and includes inpatient wards whose windows were visible from the rooftop position.
A spokesperson for the health board stated that the board maintains a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, aggression, or nuisance within its hospital sites. The incident occurred on a Saturday during daytime, afternoon hours.
The 50-minute duration and the multi-agency emergency response illustrate the operational impact of even non-violent disruption: diversion of resources, potential interruption of normal hospital access, and the need to manage a person in an elevated position.
A Later Incident at the Same Hospital
A separate later incident involving the same individual at the same hospital was reported by the BBC. In that situation, occurring in the period leading up to a July 29, court hearing, Gillespie climbed onto the roof wearing a black gown and a plague-doctor-style mask.
He remained for approximately three hours, made seagull-like squawking noises, and called hospital staff “murderers.” Negotiators attended before he descended via ladder. At that hearing, the district judge noted mental-health issues at the time. Defense representations indicated a bipolar diagnosis and characterized the behavior as a cry for help.
Gillespie was detained under the Mental Health Act for nearly a fortnight beginning roughly ten days after that disturbance. The June Grim Reaper incident and the later plague-doctor incident are distinct events, though both involved rooftop presence at the same hospital and the same defendant.
The Visual That Went Viral
The photograph that accompanied the social media post shows a figure standing on a flat rooftop in the foreground. The figure wears a full-length black hooded robe that completely covers the head and body. His face was obscured in shadow under the hood. The figure holds a long, curved-handled implement resembling a traditional scythe.
The background shows a multi-story institutional building with a grid of rectangular windows. Some windows are illuminated and reveal silhouettes of people inside. The contrast between the costumed figure and the hospital setting created a striking image that spread rapidly across platforms.
The social media post went viral from Facebook on the “NO GUN ZONE Incorporated for Philadelphia.” There, it gained nearly 2,000 reactions, 314 comments, and 599 shares. However, the post also was shared on X. As a result, it received viral attention there as well.
What The Audience on X Had to Say
The X post by @dailyloud stating the facts of the arrest accumulated tens of thousands of likes, thousands of reposts, and hundreds of replies. Reactions mixed dark humor and amusement with expressions of discomfort or criticism of the location chosen.
“Idc what yall say that […] dressed as the grim reaper standing on top of the hospital is hilarious,” one user wrote. Another framed the choice as “the british sense of humour — Raising a giggle in the face of death.”
“Bro really cosplayed Death, scaled the roof, and just stood there like a free trial of mortality,” one comment read. Others referenced Final Destination, joked about the Grim Reaper “not visiting,” or speculated about whispering “I’ll see you soon.”
Critical notes stated that the costume and location turned a place of care into a perceived threat, or described the sight as “nightmare fuel.” Occasional conspiratorial or symbolic readings appeared, though these remained minority. The dominant register was ironic amusement at the sheer improbability and visual absurdity of the scene.
Final Thoughts
This situation highlights the intersection of public-order law, healthcare security, and the symbolic power of costume and location. Hospitals are environments where patients and families already confront illness, vulnerability, and mortality. The appearance of a figure culturally associated with death carried an inherent capacity to cause alarm or distress regardless of any stated intent.
The modest financial penalty relative to the disruption illustrates how UK summary justice treats pure nuisance offences on NHS premises when no physical harm or further criminality is alleged. The concurrent disposal of the shoplifting matters indicates a pattern of low-level offending dealt with in the same proceedings.
The later separate incident by the same individual, which involved a plague-doctor mask and explicit verbal accusations against staff, adds a layer of repeated boundary-crossing behavior at the same site and introduces documented mental-health considerations that were not foregrounded in coverage of the June event.
