Wigan's week in court

A Wigan man who admitted assaulting a woman has been ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.

Philip Hughes, 35, of Rosebay Gardens, Standish, had denied assaulting Jennifer Hughes on March 22, but has now changed his plea to guilty.

Wigan magistrates imposed a 12-month community order with unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity days.

Hughes must also pay £250 towards prosecution costs and £95 to fund victim services.

A restraining order was imposed banning him from contacting Ms Hughes directly or indirectly for 12 months, except through designated third parties, and he must not go to a village in Somerset.

A woman who denies receiving stolen goods will stand trial in October.

Zoe Dewett, 40, of Inglewhite, Skelmersdale, has been charged with receiving a purse containing bank cards and photographs in Atherton on January 2.

Wigan magistrates adjourned the case until October 10, when a trial will be held.

Dewett has pleaded guilty to using a stolen bank card to make purchases at two off-licences in Atherton on the same day.

She was remanded on conditional bail until the trial.

The case against a Wigan man accused of assault has been dropped after no evidence was offered.

Damien Ashworth, 39, of Briar Road, Worsley Hall, had pleaded not guilty to assaulting Collette Hinchcliffe by beating her on April 15.

A motorist has been found not guilty of drink-driving and driving without insurance.

Liam Simpson, 28, of Briar Road, Worsley Hall, had been accused of being behind the wheel on Woodcock Drive, Platt Bridge, with 80mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

The legal limit for driving is 35mcg.

He had pleaded not guilty to the offences, which were alleged to have happened on March 24.

Simpson has now been found not guilty by Wigan magistrates and the case was dismissed.

A trial date has been set for a Wigan man accused of assault by beating.

Dean Braham, 36, of Ratcliffe Street, Springfield, is also charged with using threatening or abusive words or behaviour on April 30.

He pleaded not guilty to both offences and a trial will be held at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court on October 17.

Braham was remanded on bail until then, with conditions not to contact two named people.

A Wigan man has admitted being a passenger in a stolen car that was driven dangerously.

Gavin Barker, 36, of Enid Place, Bamfurlong, stood before borough justices to plead guilty to allowing himself to be carried in a Toyota Aygo which had been taken without the owner's consent which was then hurtling along Lancaster Avenue, Bridge Street, Market Street, Warrington Road, Lily Lane and Bryn Gates Lane without any regard for the safety of pedestrians or other motorists on April 11 last year.

The court heard that the vehicle was later recovered.

He was remanded in custody pending his appearance for sentencing before a Bolton Crown Court judge on August 2

A trial date has been set for a man who denies launching an attack and smashing a window.

Ian Curran, 51, of Albion Drive, New Springs, stood before Wigan justices to enter not guilty pleas to the charges that he assaulted Brandon Mulcrow and put one of his windows through on July 16.

The defendant was released on conditional bail until he returns to the same court for a trial on October 31.

The case of a Wigan town centre shop accused of selling counterfeit tobacco has been delayed until the autumn.

The Euro Shop on Wallgate faces a total of nine charges which largely cover the sale of fake versions of famous brands of cigarette, namely Benson and Hedges, Richmond, Lambert and Butler, Amber Leaf, Mayfair and Marlboro in August and September last year.

Wigan magistrates granted a prosecution request to delay the proceedings further until October 22.

No pleas have yet been entered.

A Wigan woman who launched a 10-day campaign of harassment and intimidation against two neighbours has narrowly avoided being sent immediately to jail.

Rebecca Derricott, 37, of Broom Road, Worsley Hall, stood before borough justices to plead guilty to two counts of harassing two named females between May 27 and June 6. The bench said that a custodial sentence was being imposed because her "conduct was intended to maximise distress and the impact this had on both victims and the adjustments they had to make to their lives."

Derricott was given a six-week custodial sentence but it was suspended for 12 months.

She must complete 15 days of rehabilitation activities and is the subject of a year-long restraining order preventing contact with her victims and entering the precincts of their home.

A young Wigan man who admitted to being a drug dealer has been spared a jail sentence.

Connor Galvin, 23, of George Street, Hindley, had appeared before borough justices to plead guilty to possessing cannabis and amphetamine - both class A substances - with intent to supply them.

The case was sent to Bolton Crown Court where a judge gave him an 18-month community order which includes completing 20 days of rehabilitation activities.

A further charge of possessing an offensive weapon - namely a knuckleduster - was allowed to lie on file.

A 22-year-old who admitted to launching a vicious attack has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Connor Banks, from Eton Terrace, Ince, had pleaded guilty to unlawfully and maliciously wounding William Nicholson on December 2 when he made his first appearance before a Bolton Crown Court judge.

Returning for sentence he was given a nine-month custodial term but it was suspended for 12 months.

Banks must also complete 28 days of rehabilitation activities.

A man placed a tracker on his victim's car during a 17-day stalking campaign,

Wigan magistrates heard. Kelvin James, 58, of Church Drive, Orrell, pleaded guilty to a single charge of pursuing a course of conduct from November 3 to 20 last year which he knew amounted to harassment and that he used the tracker to monitor her movements.

He was released on bail until August 17 when he will be sentenced.

Before that time he must not have any direct or indirect contact with the victim.

A Wigan teenager has been accused of making racist threats.

Michael Bate, 19, of Warrington Road, Abram, stood before borough justices to deny using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards Nagina Iqbar in Leigh on May 24 last year and that the language, intended to make the victim fear violence, was racially aggravated.

The case was adjourned until December 1 until a trial takes place at the same court.

A Wigan man who helped someone have sex with a child is now behind bars.

Paul Holmes, 53, of Woodcock Drive, Platt Bridge, had pleaded guilty to intentionally assisting in the commission of sexual activity with a girl under 13.

He has now been jailed for 18 months by a judge at Manchester Crown Court.

Holmes had initially faced charges of encouraging the rape of a child and trying to arrange for someone to have sex with a child, but the alternative charge was accepted by the prosecution.

A man will appear in court later this month accused of stealing from three shops.

Patrick Moran, 30, of Bridgewater Street, Hindley, is charged with taking salmon fillets worth £90 from M&S in Leigh on October 20, three handbags from TKMaxx in Leigh on December 4, and three teeth whitening kits from Boots in Leigh on December 21.

He is also accused of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour towards Jonathan Few on October 20 and threatening to smash up a car belonging to Lewis Miller on December 21.

The case was adjourned by Wigan magistrates until August 10.

Two people accused of serious assaults in a Wigan bar will appear in court later this month.

Catherine Cannon, 29, of Prestt Grove, Worsley Mesnes, is charged with assaulting Nicola Phillips and causing actual bodily harm at Harry's Bar on October 22.

Lee Dutch, 28, of Bracken Road, Leigh, is accused of assaulting Christopher Nye, causing actual bodily harm, in the same venue on the same day.

They will both stand before Wigan magistrates on August 22.

A Wigan borough man has been charged with assaulting a woman on New Year's Eve.

Michael Medley, 34, of York Avenue, Tyldesley, is accused of assaulting Venisha Smith on December 31.

He also faces allegations of carrying a kitchen knife at Acorns care centre in Hindley and attempting to damage a car window, both of which were said to have happened on other dates.

Medley will appear at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court on August 22 and was remanded on conditional bail until then.

A man has admitted assaulting a police constable and using threatening or abusive words or behaviour towards three officers.

Nathan Sale, 27, of Hope Carr Lane, Leigh, will be sentenced by Wigan magistrates on August 22.

He was remanded on unconditional bail.

A woman has denied stealing ornaments worth £370.

Lisa Fisher, 40, of Eastwell Road, Beech Hill, is alleged to have taken the items from Accessories 4 You in Wigan on March 11.

She was remanded on unconditional bail until October 18, when a trial will be held at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court.

A Wigan man who denies having dozens of indecent images of children will have his case heard by a judge and jury.

David Waterworth, 40, of Bridge Street, Golborne, is accused of having 83 prohibited images of a child on March 8, 2021.

He is also charged with making eight of the most serious (category A) images and 16 category B images of children between July 23, 2019 and March 8, 2021.

Waterworth pleaded not guilty to all three charges when he appeared before Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court and the case was sent to Bolton Crown Court for a trial.

He will appear there on August 31 and was remanded on unconditional bail until then.

A man who controlled a county line supplying class A drugs in Wigan has been jailed for five years.

Reece Jon Browne, 26, was involved with dealing heroin and crack cocaine across the borough and was caught after a police investigation into county lines.

Browne, of Eton Street, in Walton, Liverpool, was discovered to be controlling the county line by supplying class A drugs across Wigan between February and April this year.

He was arrested and charged with supplying heroin and crack cocaine in April.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine when he appeared at Liverpool Crown Court.

A Wigan man has been left with a bill of more than £400 and a community order after admitting assault and criminal damage.

Martin Prescott, 55, of Pryce Avenue, Ince, had been charged with the assault of Medfie Kasiam on July 2, 2020 and breaking two mobiles worth £963 belonging to the complainant on the same day.

But he denied committing the offences, including the allegation that the assault was aggravated by racial overtones.

A trial was expected to be held, but before it could take place, he entered guilty pleas earlier this month to criminal damage and a lesser charge of assault.

Prosecutors accepted the attack was not racially aggravated and this meant the case could progress.

Prescott has now been sentenced at Bolton Crown Court to a 12-month community order with 10 rehabilitation activity days.

He was also told to pay a £240 fine, £100 compensation and £95 victim surcharge.

A Wigan man who admitted benefit fraud must repay more than £22,000 in three months – or he will be jailed for five years.

A hearing was held at Bolton Crown Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act to establish how much of the money obtained by John Barnett, of Legh Street, Ashton, could be recovered.

It was determined he had benefited from £55,824.50 by failing to notify the authorities of a change of circumstances that affected entitlement to a council tax cut from Wigan Council and employment and support allowance (ESA) from DWP.

The council tax deduction was received between May 2015 and December 2019, while he received ESA from September 2018 to March 2019.

Barnett, 63, pleaded guilty and was given a 27-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, earlier this year.

He was also put under a three-month curfew.

He has now agreed to pay back £22,098.34 within three months and faces five years in prison if he defaults.

A Wigan driver has admitted failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis by the police.

Robert Chambers, 43, of Mossfields, Wrightington, was asked to give the specimen on May 29 during an investigation into whether he had committed an offence. He has been remanded on bail until August 18, when he will be sentenced by Wigan magistrates.

A teenager has denied assaulting a woman and damaging a car.

Jacob Gaskell, 19, of HMP Deerholt in Durham, is alleged to have attacked Natasha Dutton in Platt Bridge on February 26 and used threatening or abusive words or behaviour towards her.

He is also accused of causing damage worth £350 to a car belonging to Kerry Jolley on the same day.

Wigan magistrates adjourned the case until August 25 and he was remanded in custody.