Davey Hearn: Former Olympian denies vandalising Washington Reflecting Pool after arrest

Davey Hearn says he was simply touching the new paint at the site out of curiosity and did not remove or alter it.

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David "Davey" Hearn, 67, was detained by the pool's edge on Friday as he was finishing a long bike ride.

Hearn told BBC News that he had removed his cycling glove to simply touch a long strip of rubbery material which appeared to have "delaminated" from the bottom of the pool, when he was stopped by US Park Police and National Guard troops.

The champion canoeist is now facing a misdemeanour charge of destruction of government property.

The Reflecting Pool has just undergone a multi-million dollar resealing and painting project, but already the paint appears to be peeling off.