Blackpool: From the courts 22-08-17

Here is the latest round-up of some of the cases at Blackpool Magistrates Court.
Blackpool Magistrates' CourtBlackpool Magistrates' Court
Blackpool Magistrates' Court

Philip Grey, 42, depositing litter

Throwing down a cigarette end in Blackpool has cost a man £110 in financial penalties.

Philip Grey, 42, of Park Road, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to depositing litter.

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He was fined £80 and ordered to pay £30 costs by Blackpool magistrates.

Lynda Bennett, prosecuting for Blackpool Council, said on January 19 an officer saw Grey discard a cigarette end in Church Street.

He was issued with a fixed penalty ticket to pay a fine of £80 but he did not pay it.

Grey told magistrates he had rung up the authorities asking if he could pay the fixed penalty fine in instalments as he could not afford to pay it all at once. He had been told that was not possible.

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Martin Harris, 55, shoplifting

A man turned to crime because he was unable to use a computer, a court was told.

Martin Harris had his Job Seekers Allowance benefits cut as he was unable to go on-line to show he was looking for work.

Harris, who had been on two courses in an attempt to master new technology, turned to stealing food because he did not have enough to live on.

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Harris, 55, of Coop Street, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to two offences of shoplifting.

Prosecutor, Martine Connah, said on July 19 Harris was caught on CCTV stealing food worth £6.30 from the Iceland store, on Welbeck Road. He was caught five days later trying to steal meat from the same store.

Kathryn Jamieson-Sinclair, defending, said Harris had once been homeless and had an alcohol problem but had cut down his drinking.

He was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £6.30 compensation, £40 costs and a £20 victims surcharge.

Adrian Hackett, 44, driving with excess alcohol

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A chef was almost three times over the alcohol limit when he crashed his car into a lamp post at Blackpool.

Adrian Hackett, 44, of Palatine Road, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol.

He was banned from driving for four years, put on a 12-month community order to do 60 hours unpaid work and told to pay £85 costs and an £85 victim surcharge.

Prosecutor, Martine Connah, said on July 26 at 3.10am a man saw Hackett crash his VW Polo into a lamp post on Grosvenor Street. The witness saw Hackett try to restart the car, took the defendant’s keys and followed him when he walked off.

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A breath test showed 95 micrograms of alcohol in his body – 35 is the limit.

When interviewed Hackett, who had a previous drink-drive conviction from 2015, said he could not remember getting into the car.

Hugh Pond, defending, said his client, a chef at a resort restaurant, was depressed and had been under extreme pressure at work because they had been short-staffed.

Ryan Sanderson, 23, drunk and disorderly

A demolition engineer was found with drugs when he was arrested after threatening to ‘box’ with a man near the Winter Gardens.

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Ryan Sanderson, 23, of Moss Side Lane, Thornley, near Preston, pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly and possessing cocaine.

He was fined £350 with £85 costs and ordered to pay a further £35.

Prosecutor, Martine Connah, said on July 23 at 12.30am a police sergeant on patrol in Market Street saw Sanderson wearing no shirt on and with a bloody nose and knuckles but he refused to talk to police. Officers then heard Sanderson say ‘come on let’s box’ before throwing a punch at a man.

A small packet of cocaine was found in his pocket.

Stephen Duffy, defending, said his client, who had no previous convictions, had come to the resort with friends to watch a darts tournament.

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While smoking a cigarette outside a club a man he did not know rode up on a bike and punched him in the face, breaking his nose.

Sanderson, who used cocaine infrequently, was upset when police arrested him rather then his attacker.

Christopher Easter, 42, theft

A man who had managed to beat his addiction to heroin was still struggling with a drink problem, Blackpool magistrates heard.

Christopher Easter 42, of Grasmere Road, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to two offences of stealing wine.

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He was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £13.59 compensation with £40 costs plus a £20 victim surcharge. Prosecutor, Martine Connah, said on July 23 Easter stole one bottle of wine from Spar, on Station Road, before returning and taking two more.