Wigan's week in court

A Wigan 29-year-old has been accused of launching an horrific attack on a woman.

Nathan Dawber, of Rivington Drive, Bickershaw, appeared before borough magistrates charged with intending to cause Brogan Redford grievous bodily harm on March 26.

He faces an alternative charge of GBH without intent and is further accused of producing cannabis on March 27 and breaching bail conditions by not residing at an appointed address on October 2.

He was remanded on bail, conditional that he resides at the Rivington Drive address, does not go within two miles of a home on Wigan Road, Wigan, and is subject to an electronically-tagged curfew that confines him to home between 7pm and 7am.

He will next appear before a Bolton Crown Court judge on February 8.

A young Wigan woman has been fined after admitting she was a passenger in a car which she knew had been taken from its lawful owner without permission.

Kasi Holden-Boyle, 21, of Falconwood Close, Gidlow, appeared before borough justices to plead guilty to being carried in a Volkswagen Golf on June 27 when aware it was taken without the owner's consent.

With court costs and a victim services surcharge added to the penalty, Holden-Boyle has £236 in total to pay.

A man has walked free from court after a vandalism case against him collapsed.

Daniel Wilde, 30, of Castle Hill Road, Hindley, had been accused of causing £2,000 in criminal damage to windows and the exterior of a Jigsaw Housing Group property in Hindley on June 17.

But at the latest hearing at Wigan and Leigh courts of justice, the prosecution did not offer any evidence and so the defendant was told he was free to go.

A Wigan motorist who drove at “lunatic speeds” to cause a crash which left a woman scarred for life, then faked his car’s theft to throw police off the trail, has been jailed. Botond Berzsenyi, 23, of Leigh Road, Hindley Green, will serve 22 months behind bars and is barred from the road for at least 29 months after which he will have to take an extended retest.

Bolton Crown Court heard that Berzsenyi was dangerously driving a Mercedes E Class car on Chorley New Road, Bolton, while pursued by police when it was in collision with another car with two women inside on April 22.

Their vehicle flipped onto its roof and they were both badly hurt.

The driver told Wigan Today that she sustained multiple injuries all over her body, her head was split open and she was left with facial scarring for life.

The hearing was told that Berzsenyi, who fled the scene, later reported his vehicle stolen – a claim corroborated by his wife Barbara.

The police helicopter was scrambled as a search was launched for the supposedly stolen vehicle.

But evidence led back to the owner and he was arrested.

He initially denied charges of dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice but before his trial could begin last month he changed his pleas.

Barbara Berzsenyi, 19, also admitted perverting the course of justice and was given a four-month prison sentence which was suspended for 24 months.

She must also complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

Botond and Barbara Berzsenyi must pay victim surcharges of £156 and £128 respectively.

A 41-year-old Wigan man will be sentenced in the new year after admitting he harassed a woman for four months.

Mark Vernal, of Dunbarton Green, Beech Hill, appeared before borough justices to plead guilty to sending texts to Anna Taylor and turning up at her workplace between early December 2020 and April 18 2021.

He also admitted to breaching a suspended sentence, handed down for a previous offence, by committing the crime.

However a charge that he caused Ms Taylor to fear that violence would be used against her, which he had denied, was dropped when the prosecution did not offer any evidence. Vernal was released on unconditional bail while a pre-sentence report is prepared.

He is due to return to the court on January 10 when he will learn his fate.

A mugger who snatched handbags from four women – dragging two of them to the floor – has been jailed for more than five years.

Shane Liptrot, of Anson Place, Marsh Green, targeted the women, who were all alone, in a spate of incidents in Scholes in August.

But he was caught after CCTV operators followed his movements in the area.

A police spokesman said: “The victims were all lone women and were subjected to various levels of violence in order to snatch their handbags from them.

"Two of the women were dragged to the floor, one of whom sustained a nasty cut to her chin as it made contact with the ground.

"The victims were aged between 17 and 60.

"Liptrot was initially identified as the perpetrator after diligent work by Wigan Central Watch CCTV operators in tracing his movements before and after the offences.

"This was followed up by officers arresting Liptrot and finding a bank cards belonging to one of the victims in his flat.

"He was also caught on CCTV using another of the victim’s cards in a local store.

"Liptrot gave ‘no comment’ during his two police interviews but subsequently plead guilty at an earlier hearing.”

The 23-year-old pleaded guilty to four counts of robbery and two counts of fraud by false representation when trying to use bank cards he had stolen.

He was jailed for a total of five years and four months when he appeared at Bolton Crown Court and must pay a victim surcharge of £228.

A serial Wigan offender has been jailed for almost half a year after admitting to more offences.

Nicholas Clough, 33, of Woodhouse Lane, Springfield, had initially denied assaulting Lorraine Clough on both August 2 and 23, but at his latest hearing he changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced for them along with the theft of Ms Clough's mobile and smashing a glass on the latter occasion.

A charge of stealing her necklace, which he had denied, was dismissed after no evidence was offered.

Clough also admitted to two unrelated matters: stealing a £40 electric razor from Boots on April 10 and taking a Hyundai car in Manchester between July 8 and 16 without the owner's consent and damaging it while he had it.

In total Clough was given 24 weeks in custody, the bench saying he was being imprisoned because of his previous track record for offending.

He was also ordered to pay £150 compensation to Ms Clough.

A young Wigan man who physically abused his pet dog has been spared an immediate jail sentence but faces community punishments and a four figure court bill.

Leon Butler, 25, of Lancaster Road, Hindley, had previous appeared before borough justices to admit inflicting injuries on a dark coloured dog and failing to protect two dogs from rough, frightening and potentially handling.

The offences took place on June 16 and 17 this year.

The bench gave him a 16-week custodial sentence but suspended it for 12 months.

He was ordered to complete 40 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activities.

There are costs and victim services surcharge to pay too: of £2,187.50.

A Wigan man has walked free from court after being found not guilty of fly-tipping.

George Roberts, 30 of Bryn Gates, Bamfurlong, had stood in the dock at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court to plead not guilty to two charges brought under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act.

The first was that he dumped a handsaw, takeaway packaging, cans and bottles, a piece of carpet, a handheld vacuum cleaner, leaves, the inside of an iPhone box and other miscellaneous pieces of plastic and waste at the rear of Carr Common Road, Hindley Green, on September 29 2020.

The second was that he failed to provide requested documentation to the waste regulation authority - namely Wigan Council - by a deadline of October 27 that year, which is itself a breach of the act.

But following a trial, justices found him not guilty and he was told he was free to go.

A Wigan motorist will learn his fate in the new year after admitting he drove a large goods vehicle while banned and uninsured.

Danien Danzelko, 28, of Belmont Avenue, Bickershaw, appeared before borough magistrates to plead guilty to the two offences committed in Hull on January 13 this year.

The case was adjourned for sentencing on January 6 while a Polish interpreter can be found.

A court decision on whether to ban a serial shoplifter from every Wigan retail outlet has been postponed until the new year.

Malcolm Ellison, whom magistrates say has an appalling track record for theft, appeared before them again last month to admit stealing £20 worth of washing machine pods from B&M Bargains on September 14.

When the 56-year-old of Keats Avenue, Worsley Mesnes, is sentenced, the bench will consider proposals to hit Ellison with a criminal behaviour order barring him from the Ashton's Gerard Centre in particular and any retail outlet in the Wigan area in general.

That was to have happened this month but now it has been adjourned until December 6 before which he is on bail, conditional that he does not enter the Gerard Centre.

A woman whose shoplifting trial was delayed due to her catching Covid has now admitted to the crime.

But Lisa Fisher, 41, of Eastwell Road, Beech Hill, will only learn her fate next spring because she faces a trial on other matters in the meantime.

Fisher had originally denied stealing £370 worth of ornaments from Accessories 4 U in the Grand Arcade but has now changed her plea.

She also admitted to smashing a vase there on the same occasion: March 11.

But she is also accused of stealing laundry products and an air freshener worth £30 from B&M Bargains on April 4 and a further theft of £106 worth of laundry products from the same store on June 1.

Only after those matters have been dealt with will she be sentenced for the Accessories 4 U theft and criminal damage on May 9.

A Wigan man has been cleared of blocking a public footpath by installing an electric barrier.

Stuart Baldwin, 58, of Bryn Gates Lane, Bamfurlong, had been charged with obstructing free passage along Bryn Gates Lane with the barrier on October 5 contrary to the 1980 Highways Act.

It was alleged an electric retractable barrier was installed near Bryn Hall Farm, where a public footpath crosses Park Brook via Park Brook bridge.

But the defendant entered a not guilty plea and when it came to trial, Wigan magistrates found him not guilty and he was told he was free to go.

A man has been cleared of hurling racial abuse.

Michael Bate, 20, of Warrington Road, Abram, had been charged with using threatening or abusive language against Nagina Iqbar on May 24 in Leigh and that the victim feared that she would be subjected to violence.

The charge was aggravated by the allegation that it had a race hate element to it.

But at the latest hearing at Wigan Magistrates' Court, no evidence was offered by the prosecution, the case was dismissed and the accused walked free.