Wigan's week in court

A Wigan man has been cleared of breaching a domestic violence protection order.

A trial was held by borough magistrates after it was alleged that Nicky Parr, 38, of Ince Green Lane, Ince, was, on April 8, in contravention of a court order made against him by having contact with a named woman.

He had denied the charge and at the end of the hearing, justices declared the case had not been proved and he was told he was free to leave.

A young Wigan driver hit a speed of 110mph on the motorway, a court heard.

Alexander Kay, 23, of Jupiter Grove, Marus Bridge, appeared before Stockport magistrates to deny going at 40mph over the national limit between junctions 11 and 10 on the westbound carriageway of the M62 on August 4 last year.

But following a trial he was found guilty of the offence by the justices.

His driving record was endorsed with six points and when a fine, court costs and a victim services surcharge are totted up, he also has £820 to pay.

A warrant has been issued for a Wigan 23-year-old accused of a £5,500 benefit fiddle.

Ryan Cleworth, of Thomas Street, HIndley Green, faces four charges of receiving credits to which he was not entitled between 2019 and 2021 and then failing to take steps to cancel those payments, knowing he didn't deserve them.

He had been due to appear before borough magistrates to enter pleas to the 1968 Theft Act charges but failed to appear and so the bench issued a warrant for his arrest.

A trial date has been set for a Wigan man who denies careless driving.

Keith Breeze, 47, of Church Lane, Lowton, stood before Bolton magistrates to deny driving a Ford ST without due care and attention on the road where he lives on October 21 2021.

A trial will now take place at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court on October 23 this year.

A Wigan 53-year-old has been accused of stalking.

An application went before borough magistrates for Paul Keevil, of Fairman Drive, Hindley, to be made the subject of a stalking protection order in that he "posed a risk to another person".

The bench granted it, stipulating a long list of conditions which included not having contact with a named woman and entering an exclusion zone in Bolton for the next seven weeks.

The case was adjourned until May 2 to await the outcome of Crown Court matters.

A young man has made his first appearance before a judge to face charges of twice raping a woman in Wigan town centre.

Samuel Jakubowski was arrested following an alleged attack on a female in the early hours of Saturday March 12.

The 20-year-old of Elm Tree Road in Lowton had previously appeared at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court but because of the seriousness of the case it was immediately sent to Bolton Crown Court.

It has now been adjourned until July 12 before which the defendant is on conditional bail.

A Wigan teenager has admitted to a double mugging.

The 17-year-old. who cannot be named, appeared before Manchester and Salford justices having initially denied robbing two named males of their mobile phones on May 31 2021 and assaulting one of them, causing actual bodily harm.

But at his latest appearance he pleaded guilty to all three charges.

The bench released him on unconditional bail until May 18 while a pre-sentence report is prepared.

He will be dealt with by Wigan and Leigh justices.

A man was jailed for multiple offences after appearing before Wigan magistrates.

Martin Hulme, 40, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to offences including shoplifting, handling stolen goods and fraud at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court.

He was sentenced by magistrates to 34 weeks’ imprisonment.

GMP Leigh, Atherton and Hindley posted about the sentencing of Hulme on its Facebook page, saying the case was brought after an investigation by the Tyldesley Neighbourhood Team.

The case of two young men facing a series of sexual and physical violence charges, including rape has been delayed.

Lewis Hardcastle, 24, of Oak Tree Close, Atherton, and 25-year-old Willem Tomlinson, of Honeysuckle Court, Accrington, were due to appear before a Bolton judge charged with four counts of assault by penetration.

Both are also accused of causing a named woman actual bodily harm on the same day - September 18, 2019 - Hardcastle twice having alleged to have done so.

But a hearing will now next take place on May 25.

Sentencing of a vile Wigan paedophile, convicted of a litany of child sex abuse crimes plus an horrific physical assault, has been delayed because he is ill.

Sean Johnson, 32, of Roundhouse Avenue, Aspull, was found guilty by a Bolton Crown Court jury of 27 offences committed against one girl between April 2018 and November 2019 when she was aged 12 to 14.

He had denied all the charges against him but his eight-day trial ended in a long series of guilty verdicts.

He was convicted of two counts of assaulting a child under 13 by penetration; three of sexually assaulting an under-13; the attempted rape of a child under 13; two of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity; 14 of sexual activity with a child; four of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and one of inciting a child into sexual activity. Johnson has also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of intending to cause a named male grievous bodily harm (the most serious assault charge after attempted murder) on July 25 last year.

He had been due to be sentenced this month, but the Bolton hearing was told that he was ill in prison and so he is now scheduled to learn his fate on June 5.

A Wigan motorist who has admitted to three serious driving offences will have to wait longer until he learns his fate.

Jamie Smith, 33, of Atherton Road in Hindley, was due to be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court this month for two counts of dangerous driving and one of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

But after two previous delays, the hearing has now been moved to May 15 due to a current lack of court time.

He had pleaded guilty to all three charges at earlier hearings.

A Wigan man has been accused of launching an attack, witness intimidation and being a loan shark.

Alan Fawcett, 51, of Warrington Road, Ince, appeared before borough justices to face charges of assaulting and intimidating a named male who was due to testify in a trial with the intention of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

These incidents are alleged to have taken place on April 1 this year.

Fawcett is separately charged that between February 1 2021 and April 1 2023, "carried on a regulated activity, namely money lending, when not an authorised or exempt person."

He has yet to enter any pleas.

Justices sent the case to be heard at Bolton Crown Court on May 19 before which Fawcett is on bail but subject to conditions including being electronically tagged and barred from contacting a number of named people, keeping out of an exclusion zone in Higher Ince and sleeping each night at his home address.

A Wigan woman who was a passenger in a high performance car which she knew didn't belong to the driver has been hit with a court bill.

Naomi Carruthers, 38, of Holt Street, Springfield, had initially denied travelling in the Audi A3 on May 3 last year while knowing it had been taken without the owner's consent. But she later changed her plea to guilty.

She received a fine and was ordered to pay a victim services surcharge and costs totalling £209.

The case of a Wigan lettings firm which faces 15 charges of fraud relating to the handling of deposits worth thousands of pounds has been adjourned.

Let Me Lettings, on Winstanley Road, Orrell, is accused of falsely claiming deposits were being held in a deposit protection scheme and other related offences involving disputes between tenants and landlords.

The offences are alleged to have happened between August 2016 and June 2019 and involved properties in Wigan and Skelmersdale.

Linda Murray, 39, of Ellerthwaite Road, Windermere, also faces 14 charges of fraud relating to the deposits.

The charges relate to fraud by false representation regarding deposits of various amounts, ranging from £450 to £1,050.

A hearing held at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court was adjourned until June 1 as Murray was unable to attend through ill-health.

Documentation will now be required to be produced to prove her illness prevents her from attending court, and whether it can go ahead in her absence.

A Wigan borough man has appeared in court charged with manslaughter after a 22-year-old man died following an altercation outside a Lancaster nightclub last year.

Sean Orrell, 32, of Wigan Road in Leigh, appeared at Preston Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

Magistrates said the matter was so serious it can only be dealt with at the crown court, and set a date for Orrell to enter his plea on May 18 at Preston Crown Court.

Police were called just before 4.30am on June 12 2022 to a report that a man had been punched during an altercation outside the former Glow nightclub in Dalton Square, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground.

The man, dad-of-two Joshua Hughes, who was part of a group who had been inside the club earlier but had been ejected, was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Mr Hughes, of Morecambe, passed away on June 16. A Wigan motorist caught on the phone while driving will not be banned from the road because he would lose his job.

The six points put on Paul Stokes's licence took him over the 12-point limit due to a previous penalty and under normal circumstances that would have meant being disqualified from driving.

But borough justices heard that for the 60-year-old of Kenyon Road, Wigan, such a measure would result in his sacking and that would then negatively impact on his family. And so the bench decided there would be no "totting up" ban. However Stokes must pay a fine, court costs and a victim services surcharge totalling £559.

A vehicle owner has been penalised by magistrates for not disclosing who was driving it when it was involved in an alleged motoring incident.

Joanne Purdham, 54, of Meadowgate, Beech Hill, was proved guilty in her absence by Wigan magistrates of having failed to reveal who was at the wheel of her Chevrolet Aveo when an offence was committed in it on March 2 last year.

As a punishment, her driver's licence was endorsed with six points and she must fork out a total of £822 in costs, a payment to victim services and a fine.

A motorist drove his high performance car at more than double the speed limit on a motorway, a court heard.

Paul Eatock, 45, of Convent Close, Roby Mill, Up Holland, hit a speed of of 82mph on the M62 at Salford on May 24 last year while at the wheel of a Jaguar XF Chequered Flag, Tameside magistrates were told.

This was when 40mph Smart motorway restrictions were in place.

The case was adjourned until August 1 when the defendant is expected to enter a plea.

In a separate case on the same day in court, another Wigan man was penalised for breaking the speed limit by almost 30mph on the same stretch of the M62 (between junctions 11 and 10).

This was on May 1 last year when the limit was set at 70mph and 48-year-old Cristian Iordan, of Poolstock Lane, Worsley Mesnes, drove his BMW at 99mph.

His driver's licence was endorsed with six points and he has a fine, court costs and a victim services surcharge totalling £385 to pay.

A nuisance Wigan home where neighbours only got respite when the occupant was in prison has been hit with a closure order.

The council successfully applied to borough magistrates to have tough visiting restrictions imposed on 81 Scholes in Scholes after it proved a magnet for trouble.

But it has been revealed that the tenant themselves has now been evicted.

A spokesperson for GMP Wigan West said: “Wigan Council’s community resilience team, supported by evidence supplied by the Scholes Neighbourhood team, successfully submitted to Wigan magistrates an application for a full closure order in respect of number 81 Scholes, Scholes.

“The full closure order was granted under section 80 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime, and Policing Act 2014 and prohibits entry to the address from ALL persons including the tenant who has now been removed.

"The closure order will remain in effect for a period of three months and may be extended if required.

“The address has been the source of the vast majority of anti-social behaviour for a long time, only abating when the occupant was serving a period of custody, and, thankfully, will no longer be the case.

"Further addresses have already been identified and can expect the same treatment soon."