An anti-lockdown activist who aggressively confronted two NHS workers while filming inside a hospital was convicted today of a public order offence and ordered to pay almost £1000 in fines, costs and surcharges.

Debbie Hicks of Stratford Road, Stroud, had denied using threatening words or behaviour towards the two women staff at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital on December 28 2020.

She claimed her behaviour was reasonable and that she was entitled to live stream video from inside the hospital under her rights of freedom of expression within the European Convention on Human Rights.

Her aim in filming inside the hospital on Dec 27 and 28 2020 had been to show that it was not busy with Covid patients as the NHS was reporting, the court was told.

The case was tried over two days at Cirencester Courthouse earlier this month and today District Judge Nicholas Wattam gave a judgement which found her guilty of the charge.

After hearing that Hicks is unemployed and that she and her husband are struggling financially, the judge fined her £120 and ordered her to pay £775 prosecution costs and a £34 victim surcharge.

He gave her 28 days to pay.

Before the hearing concluded today defence barrister Ms Van Woodenburg indicated to the judge that there may be an appeal against his decision.

During the trial, Ms Van Woodenburg had told the court Hicks was acting like a 'guerrilla journalist' in her efforts to prove that Covid was not causing the problems in the NHS that the public were told about at a time when Gloucestershire was under Tier 3 restrictions.

Richard Posner, prosecuting, said that when live streaming from the hospital onto Facebook on December 27 Hicks was questioned by two elderly women about why she was not wearing a mask? The resulting video 'attracted numerous comments,' he said.

“The following day Ms Hicks returned following criticism that she didn’t focus on the main part of the hospital. During this visit she was challenged by two therapists in the stairwell of the tower block," Richard Posner said. 

“One of the therapists recognised her voice from the previous day’s video and challenged her. Ms Hicks’ response was confrontational, derogatory and aggressive."

During the second visit, said Mr Posner, Hicks was challenged by occupational therapist Katie Williams and Sophie Brown, a senior physiotherapist.

They asked her not to film in the hospital but she responded: “Why not?”

Ms Hicks then allegedly put her phone in Ms Brown's face and told her she paid her taxes and her wages 'so I can do what I want.'

Tearfully, Ms Brown told the court she felt that showed disrespect and violated her personal space.

“We worked so hard so to say that what we were doing was a sham put us all on edge,” she added.

“Having a camera pointed in my face and me going out and being seen by anti-vaxxers who would be critical and abusive was my main concern.

“Being challenged was very intimidating but it was the effect of what could happen afterwards that was my main concern. It was the unknown.”

But today the district judge Nicholas Wattam said he found the evidence of the two women convincing and without exaggeration and they had stood up well to cross examination.

The district judge said: "They had been visibly distressed while giving evidence and he found that they had been subjected to aggressive and intimidating behaviour."

"These two health professionals who had the misfortune to encounter her deserved not to be molested by her while they were at work and they should be protected by law."