An American tourist has been fined £200 after admitting trespassing on the grounds of Buckingham Palace.

Joseph Huang Kang jumped over the fence into the Royal Mews – which houses the royal family’s horses and carriages – on the afternoon of December 10 last year.

Prosecutor Sadara Weerasena told Westminster Magistrates’ Court that the 24-year-old ignored staff who challenged him and ran off before being found in the toilets.

Kang, from Houston in Texas, pleaded guilty to trespassing on a protected site this morning (February 9).

His lawyer, Lucy Watson, explained that at the time of the offence he was suffering from an “unspecified psychosis disorder”.

“No harm was caused. He did not enter the palace. He had no intention to enter the palace. There was no damage caused,” she said.

Ms Watson told the court that US national Kang had arrived in the UK on December 1, staying in Heathrow Airport for days because his debit cards had been cancelled.

His parents booked him a flight home but Kang began suffering from psychosis before he boarded the plane, she said.

“On December 10 he found himself homeless,” said Ms Watson.

“The reason he went into the grounds was to seek medical help. He wanted to get arrested.”

He had been bailed following a previous appearance at the same court last month on condition that he not be within 200 metres of Buckingham Palace and that he does not attempt to leave the United Kingdom.

It's believed that Kang has since been residing at the European Hotel in King’s Cross.

He was fined £200 by Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring, who also ordered the 24-year-old to pay another £119 in costs.

“The sooner your parents pay it and you can go, the less they will have to pay for a London hotel, which is obviously expensive,” he said.

“What you were trying to do was looking for some help. You found yourself in a very difficult situation in a foreign country, with no funds, nowhere to live and all your property being lost.

“I also accept you had no nefarious intent while you were there.

“You weren’t in possession of anything and you weren’t seeking to get into the palace.”