R v Rimmington [2006] 1 AC 469
Public Nuisance – Mens Rea – Definition of Offence of Public Nuisance
Facts
Rimmington, the defendant, sent 538 separate postal packages to individuals. These were of a crude, racist and obscene nature, and were intended to cause mental anguish to black people in retaliation for a racially-motivated assault he had previously suffered. After being arrested and charged with public nuisance, the defendant argued that the criminal offence of public nuisance was not defined precisely enough and was too uncertain to allow a prosecution under it to be in line with the European Convention on Human Rights or the Common law itself. This was dismissed by the trial judge and he was convicted. The Court of Appeal also dismissed this argument. The defendant appealed to the House of Lords.
Issues
Was the criminal offence of public nuisance consistent with the European Convention on Human Rights? Is the crime of public nuisance capable of precise definition and capable of being interpreted in a consistent manner?
Decision/Outcome
The appeal was allowed. Public nuisance was capable of a consistent definition, which could be stated as being committed when an individual does an act not warranted by law, or omits to discharge a legal duty if the effect of the act or omission is to endanger the life, health, property, morals, or comfort of the public or to obstruct the public in the exercise or enjoyment of rights common to all Her Majesty’s subjects. However, the offence did require that the public, or some section of the public was intended to be affected by the act or omission and in this case, this had not happened. Instead, the defendant had intended only each particular individual to be affected at any one time, and it was not permissible to multiply these separate instances of harm and call them a public injury.
Updated 20 March 2026
This case summary remains broadly accurate as a statement of the House of Lords’ decision in R v Rimmington [2006] 1 AC 469. The core common law definition of public nuisance set out in that decision continues to represent the established position.
However, readers should be aware of an important subsequent statutory development. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 codified the offence of public nuisance in statutory form for the first time (section 78), creating a statutory offence that replaces the common law offence in England and Wales for conduct occurring after the relevant provisions came into force (3 April 2023). The statutory offence broadly reflects the common law definition confirmed in Rimmington, including the requirement that a section of the public be affected, but students should now refer to the 2022 Act as the primary source of the law on public nuisance as a criminal offence rather than relying solely on the common law. The case retains significance for understanding how the common law offence was interpreted and for the principles underlying the statutory codification.
