Courts reject appeal from noisy Wigan neighbour trying to get an injunction barring him from his own home lifted

Christopher Lovett was appealing against the decision made in the County Court at Manchester back in July where he was sentenced to 30 weeks in custody, just for being in his own home 21 times between October 2021 and March 2022.

Following allegations from disgruntled neighbours, the Tyldesley man was forbidden from engaging in conduct likely to cause nuisance, annoyance, alarm or distress to any person in the neighbourhood near his home off Wycombe Drive back in November 2015.

This meant he had to stay with his parents rather than his own home.

An order made on September 4, 2020 added a further term to the original injunction which prohibits him from being present in a defined area overnight between 6pm and 9am daily – which he subsequently breached. This sentence handed down was only to be served concurrently and would not have extended his stay in prison longer than the release date of December 11, 2022.

His appeal included whether the decision to find him in breach back in July was correct, and to challenge the injunction placed upon him by Wigan Council on the grounds they are “unlawful”.

The evidence at the trial which included 34 video submissions from Lovett’s next door neighbour and two witnesses statements, were scrutinised by His Honour Judge Sephton.

“I formed the impression that both Mr Gregory and Mrs Young have developed an antipathy towards Mr Lovett,” the judge said. “I have not considered the previous history of this case in any detail, and it may well be that their antipathy is entirely justified.

“Having regard to the resentment that both these witnesses feel towards Mr Lovett, I feel sure that they have produced all the evidence available relating to Mr Lovett’s behaviour in the relevant period. I reject the submission that the witnesses have conspired to tell lies about Mr Lovett.

“I reject the suggestion that the witness has edited the CCTV recordings in order to paint an unfair picture of events. Although I consider that it is unsatisfactory that the witness has made recordings of the recordings rather than present the court with extracts from the original medium on which the CCTV recordings are stored, I accept that they are an accurate illustration of what happened.”

Before hearing the subject of this appeal, Lovett had already been found to have breached the injunction on 177 separate occasions and had been committed to prison at least four times previously between 2017 and 2021, the court heard. Lovett claims that he has never had the chance to appeal the injunction order since 2015.

In a decision published by the Court of Appeal on December 16, it said: “There was no distinct point taken about the sentence given by HHJ Sephton and no reason in this judgement to consider it further. Mr Lovett’s appeal is dismissed.”

Following the decision, a Wigan Council spokesperson said: “This is a long running case relating to anti-social behaviour which has had a negative impact on local residents. We take tackling anti-social behaviour very seriously and welcome the court’s decision.”