The mystery of Britain's most annoying man: Meet the silent repeat offender who constantly blocks traffic... but WHY does he do it?

David Hampson is one of the UK’s greatest unsolved mysteries. For over a decade, he has been silently blocking the same intersection in the city of Swansea, for reasons no one can uncover.

We first wrote about David Hampson four years ago, when he made news headlines in his home country of England for his bizarre habit of standing in the middle of a Swansea intersection, blocking traffic until police finally came and arrested him. He never talked to anyone, including the police, and preferred to spend months in jail rather than provide an explanation for his bizarre habit.

(David Hampson (pictured), is a jailed 'human bollard' who refuses to talk to police, doctors and lawyers is a local prankster who is definitely not mute)

(The latest offence happened on June 19 this year when Hampson stood in the middle of De La Beche Street outside Swansea Central police station blocking the traffic until he was arrested)

Then, when he got released, he was right back to his old shenanigans. A lot has changed over the last four years, but David Hampson’s traffic-blocking habit wasn’t one of them. He is still at it, over a decade since his first arrest, back in 2014.

The Swansea Magistrates Court heard that Hampson’s latest offence happened on June 19 this year when he stood in the middle of De La Beche Street outside Swansea Central police station, blocking the traffic until he was arrested. As usual, he refused to engage with police, lawyers, judges, or doctors, preferring to just remain as silent as a statue, despite being told that staying silent would only make things worse.

Over the years, the Courts have repeatedly tried to find out if he was “mute of malice” or “mute by visitation of God”, that is, if he could speak but chose not to, or was physically or mentally unable to speak. It took a bit of investigating, but after hearing evidence from prison officers who said Hampson had spoken to them while he was an inmate at HMP Swansea, judges deduced that he simply preferred not to speak.

Several judges also ordered a psychiatric report into Hampson in the hope it would cast some light on his bizarre traffic-blocking behavior, but David Hampson simply refused to speak to the court-appointed doctor, so no interview could be conducted. Even after checking the man’s medical records, the doctor said he was not able to diagnose any psychiatric or other condition, so he couldn’t prescribe any medication or hospital treatment.

(The balding trouble-maker causes havoc by blocking the busy thoroughfare in the centre of Swansea and has been convicted of obstructing the highway 12 times over the last 10 years. Pictured: Swansea Magistrates Court)

11 years after his first traffic-blocking stunt, David Hampson remains an enigma. His refusal to speak with anyone about his motives leaves investigators with very little to go on, so the chances of ever finding out what drives him are very slim.

Ref: The mystery of Britain's most annoying man: Meet the silent repeat offender who constantly blocks traffic... but WHY does he do it?