The Jackass star was slapped with five misdemeanours, including trespassing and creating a false emergency, after he was arrested for climbing a 100 foot (30 metre)-high crane with an inflatable whale and setting off fireworks in Los Angeles. The stunt was his way of protesting America's SeaWorld parks, which have long been under fire amid allegations of animal mistreatment.

Steve-O, real name Stephen Glover, faced over a year in jail if convicted of the charges, but on Wednesday (07Oct15), he reached a plea deal with prosecutors. The 41 year old agreed to spend 30 days behind bars in December (15) after pleading no contest to trespassing and possessing fireworks and in exchange, the three other charges were dismissed, reports TMZ.com.

Steve-O will serve three years of probation, during which he has been banned from performing any of his famous stunts and ordered to steer clear of the Hollywood Entertainment District. He must also pay $7,409 (£4,631) in restitution.

The star has since revealed he "begged" his lawyer to negotiate a jail stint because the sentence will highlight the whole purpose of his cause.

"I said please get me jail time, because I think that's gonna make a better statement about captivity and it won't screw up my schedule as much as ongoing community service," Steve-O tells TMZ. "I said, 'Please', because then I can get it over with quicker... I said, 'How better to punctuate a statement about captivity than to go to jail?' And so I specifically, explicitly begged my criminal attorney to get me jail time."

Steve-O also claims he won't have to deal with sharing a cell as he will be in "protective custody". He adds, "It's not gonna be cushy; it's solitary confinement."