Former Wigan election candidate jailed after campaign of bullying and harassment

Alan Baines was due to stand trial at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court, having denied a campaign of intimidation of Jason Metcalfe between April and September last year, namely that he repeatedly swore, laughed, shouted and stared at him.

But after failing to turn up for the first day of the scheduled three-day hearing last month (June), a warrant was issued for the 66-year-old's arrest and Judge Hirst found him guilty in his absence.

Baines, of Alderley Road, Hindley, was later arrested and brought to court where he was remanded on conditional bail while pre-sentence reports were prepared ahead of his sentencing.

At the hearing yesterday (Friday), Baines received a sentence of 24 weeks. He will serve 11 of those in jail and the rest on licence in the community with an electronic tag, which means he could be returned to prison if he is found to have broken the conditions of his release.

He was also ordered to pay £2,000 to Mr Metcalfe in compensation for the bullying and torment he put him through.

This was not Baines’s first brush with the law.

In August 2021 he was given a community punishment after being convicted of attacking a neighbour by grabbing him by the throat in what was described as a homophobic attack.

He had pleaded not guilty to a single charge of assaulting Daniel Thompson by beating 12 months earlier.

Baines also fell foul of Wigan Council when, during litter picks in 2018, he also cut back trees and plants, prompting a warning letter from the town hall.

Baines stood as an independent candidate in Wigan's 2021 local elections, winning 305 votes but losing out to Labour’s Paul Blay.