A university student who provoked national outrage after he was photographed urinating on a wreath of poppies at a war memorial was told yesterday that he may be jailed for his “disgusting and reprehensible” act.

Philip Laing, 19, of Macclesfield, Cheshire, was pictured relieving himself at the memorial after joining 2,000 young students on an organised seven-hour drinking marathon in the centre of Sheffield.

The former independent school pupil appeared at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court wearing a dark suit and tie with a poppy in his lapel to plead guilty to outraging public decency. He was ashamed of his conduct, the court was told, especially as two of his grandparents had fought in the Second World War and he had been on work experience with the Army.

District Judge Anthony Browne told him that all sentencing options for his offence, including a prison term, remained under consideration.

Ian Conway, for the prosecution, said that one Sunday evening last month Laing and a group of friends had drunk a bottle of whisky after rugby practice before joining a drinking event organised by a company called Carnage UK. This was “a bar crawl of numerous licensed premises”.

Laing took part in a number of drinking games, eventually becoming so drunk that he still cannot remember what subsequently happened. At some point he fell asleep on a pavement, awoke and tried to walk, but fell down and banged his head. A photograph was later taken of him urinating on one of the poppy wreaths at the busy city centre war memorial and published in national newspapers.

Arrested and interviewed by police some days later, Laing told officers that he “could not believe what he had done”.

The prosecution accepted, Mr Conway said, that his “disgusting and reprehensible act was not in any way premeditated or politically motivated. Rather, his actions were sadly the result of having consumed large quantities of alcohol.”

Laing, who is studying sports technology at Sheffield Hallam University, is a former pupil of the King’s School, Macclesfield. His father is a computer programmer and his mother an optician. The university will begin its own disciplinary hearings once all criminal proceedings have been completed.

Tim Hughes, in mitigation, said that Laing came from a decent family. “Philip Laing is a young man who was caught up in a culture of drinking far too much. As a result of that, this is what has occurred and he has suffered considerable public approbation,” he said.

“He accepts that to a large extent he deserves it. If there was ever a case where a young man has learnt an extremely hard lesson, this is it. This has been an awful and salutary lesson for him. He is terrified.”

The judge, who adjourned the case until November 26 and ordered a pre-sentence report by the Probation Service, said that he accepted that Laing regretted his actions and gave him credit for making “a full and complete admission” at the first opportunity.

“Carnage is the name of the organisation who promote this type of activity,” the judge said. “Some might say that somebody [from that company] should be standing alongside you this morning, but that would take away where your responsibility lies.

“The image of your urinating on the poppy wreath at the war memorial in this city will make most turn away in disgust, shock and sadness. It has undoubtedly distressed and upset many. The war memorial is a sacred and special place. The court takes a very serious view of this offence.”

Varsity Leisure Group Ltd, which owns the Carnage UK brand, is owned by Paul Bahia, 29, a Birmingham University graduate. Carnage UK operates drinking events at university towns and cities across the country. An estimated 350,000 students take part every year.

Undergraduates paid £10 for a ticket to last month’s pub crawl in Sheffield. In return, they received a T-shirt and access to a series of pubs and bars along a route policed by stewards.

A company spokesman said yesterday: “Varsity Leisure Group . . . does not promote the commission of criminal offences. It is highly defamatory to suggest that it does.”

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