Barney Williams has let the side down.

The president of the Oxford University Boat Club led his crew to an emphatic five-length victory over arch-rivals Cambridge in the Boat Race on Sunday.

Now he is in disgrace after a drunken orgy in Oxford.

CCTV cameras caught a friend using a rubbish bin as a toilet, then Williams kicking a cycle.

Both were arrested, taken into custody and given £80 fines.

Stories of students getting drunk and staging all sorts of pranks in Oxford are, of course, legion. Books have even been written about them.

But what they get up to in the confines of their colleges is entirely up to them and the college authorities.

When the celebrations spill out on to streets and get out of hand, as they clearly did in this case, it becomes a matter of public concern, particularly when criminal and antisocial behaviour is involved.

The Dark Blues deserved our plaudits for rowing a fine race. But when the conduct of any of the oarsmen falls below an acceptable level, they deserve to be treated like everyone else.

The case should serve as a warning to anyone thinking of committing a crime in the city centre. The chances are Big Brother is watching you.