HAMPSHIRE Fathers4Justice campaigner Matt O’Connor has won his fight against being banned from the Olympic Games – including the torch relay, which will pass just 15 metres from his house.

Prosecutors wanted to stop O’Connor, 45, formerly of Winchester but now of The Avenue, Andover, from going within 100 metres of any Olympic venue, torch relay or the Games itself.

However, Westminster Magistrates’ Court refused the request by the Crown Prosecution Service on the grounds that it could not be justified.

The conditions were sought after O’Connor pleaded not guilty to charges of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour during a protest in the Marks & Spencer’s store in Oxford Street, London, in March.

Applying for the restrictions Robert Short, prosecuting, claimed that O’Connor, who has tickets to see the Olympic 100m final, will use both this year’s Games and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations as a platform for protest.

He said: “I am greatly concerned that Mr O’Connor will take himself and his campaign one step too far during the Diamond Jubilee or the Olympics, therefore stealing the dreams and ruining the day for those members of the public who may have their enjoyment of the Olympics significantly diminished or destroyed by this gentleman and his campaign.”

Chairman of the bench Miss Carlisle questioned Mr Short about how much the restrictions would affect O’Connor’s access to and from his home when the torch passes just 15 metres from his front door in The Avenue as part of the relay.

Mr Short replied: “I don’t know the route of the torch. If it does go past his house I see no reason why Mr O’Connor can’t look out of his window or sit on his roof.”

Steve Holliday, defending, told the court: “This is clearly, in the Crown’s way, a senior prosecutor’s way, a knee-jerk reaction because in the history of Fathers4Justice they have never interfered with, or certainly Mr O’Connor hasn’t, any sporting event in this country.”

Magistrate Miss Carlisle said they could not justify the conditions put forward.

The only conditions that will apply as part of O’Connor’s bail until a trial on September 11 and 12 are that he must not remove all his clothing or appear naked in public.

After the court hearing, O’Connor, who owns an ice-cream making business in London, said: “All I am is an ice cream man from Andover and they are trying to stop me going without any grounds whatsoever.”

O’Connor founded Fathers4Justice in 2002 after divorce led to him losing contact to his two sons. The group became famous for its activists protesting on rooftops in superhero costumes.