R v Aitken [1992] 1 WLR 1066  Court of Appeal

The appellants were RAF officers. During the course of celebrations on completing their training, as a practical joke, they had taken to setting fire to officers wearing their fire resistant clothing. They had done this to two officers and on each occasion the fire had been extinguished without injury. However, on the third occasion the officer sustained serious burns. The appellants were court martialled and convicted of GBH under s.20 Offences Against the person Act 1861.

Held:

Appeal allowed. If the officer had consented or the appellant’s believed that the officer had consented it was open for the judge to find that no offence had been committed.

Back to lecture outline on the defence of consent in criminal law