Wigan's week in court

A Wigan man has been fined for not ensuring his son regularly attended school.

David Holden, 46, of Greenwood Avenue, Worsley Hall, appeared before borough magistrates to plead guilty to failing to prevent the boy's truancy from Dean Trust Wigan during the autumn term of 2022.

His fine, plus court costs and a payment to victim services come to £144.

A Wigan man found with cocaine has been ordered to pay a fine.

Liam Dean, 28, of Keats Avenue, Standish Lower Ground, pleaded guilty to having the class A drug.

He must pay a £266 fine, plus £85 prosecution costs and £40 surcharge.

A Wigan woman's home which was the subject of a closure order to prevent anti-social behaviour is to have the ban on visitors extended.

No-one other than the residents and authorised persons will be able to go to Gemma Robinson's address of 2 Jasmine Road, Worsley Hall, until well into the new year after the authorities secured another three months on the order.

A man has been ordered by Wigan magistrates to pay compensation to two people he attacked.

Stuart Holden, 42, of Hodder Close, Worsley Hall, appeared before Wigan justices to plead guilty to the assault by beating of Allan Mercer and Andras Koza on October 18.

He was ordered to pay £200 to each of his victims and a £100 fine.

Holden must also complete 15 days of rehabilitation activities as part of his punishment.

A 17-year-old boy from the borough will stand trial next year accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

It follows an alleged incident in Bolton on August 30.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty and a trial will be held at Manchester City Magistrates' Court on February 2.

He was remanded on conditional bail.

A 16-year-old boy from the borough is accused of throwing a corrosive fluid on someone in a bid to burn or disfigure them.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is also charged with being in possession of class B drug cannabis with intent to supply.

Both offences are alleged to have taken place in Bolton on December 4.

He has been remanded in youth detention accommodation until a hearing at Manchester City Magistrates' Court on January 12.

A Wigan man who denies assaulting a woman by beating her will have to wait until June for his next court hearing.

Nicky Lomax, 38, of Liverpool Road, Platt Bridge, has already pleaded not guilty to the alleged attack on November 16.

He was remanded on conditional bail until a hearing at Bolton Magistrates' Court on June 20.

A Wigan man will be sentenced next month for causing actual bodily harm when he assaulted a police officer.

Andrew Gregory, 20, of Woodhouse Lane, Springfield, admitted attacking the officer on November 23 in Wigan.

He is also accused of breaching bail conditions by failing to attend court on December 14.

Gregory will be sentenced at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court on January 11 and was remanded on conditional bail.

A Wigan teenager has admitted making indecent images of children and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

Kyle Turner, 18, of Bridgewater Street, Hindley, will be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on January 15 after pleading guilty to five charges.

He breached the order by deleting the internet browsing history on a mobile phone between January 11 and February 23, 2022, and by installing VPN software on a phone on January 30, 2022.

Turner also made indecent images of children between the same dates - 152 of the most serious (category A) images, 273 category B images and 97 category C images.

He was remanded on unconditional bail.

A Wigan man has admitted stealing food from a grocery store on four occasions.

Kieran Monks, 44, of The Avenue, Billinge, pleaded guilty to stealing six packets of chicken breasts worth £40.50 from the Co-op on March 10, chicken breast fillets worth £27 on March 31, baby milk worth £48 on April 24 and five jars of coffee worth £47.50 on September 16.

He is also accused of stealing a fragrance gift set worth £100 from Boots at Robin Retail Park on November 14 and a gift set worth £48 on December 12, as well as using threatening or abusive words or behaviour, which was racially aggravated, on November 14.

He has not yet entered pleas to those charges.

The case of a Wigan man accused of attempted robbery has been sent to the crown court.

David Cobley, 34, of Wright Street, Platt Bridge, is accused of trying to steal cash from a man on December 14.

He will appear at Bolton Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on January 19 and was remanded in custody until then.

A 15-year-old boy from Wigan has admitted having a kitchen knife at a tram stop.

The boy, who cannot be named due to his age, pleaded guilty to having the weapon at Oldham Mumps Metrolink station on November 26.

He was remanded on conditional bail until a sentencing hearing at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court on January 11.

A Wigan man has denied stealing meat from a supermarket.

John Blaney-Hayes, 31, of Cecil Street in Leigh, pleaded not guilty to taking meat worth £83.31 from Aldi in Bolton on July 20.

He was remanded on bail, with a bail application hearing scheduled for December 22 at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court.

A trial will take place at Manchester City Magistrates' Court on January 31.

A man who admitted assaulting a woman by beating her has been given a conditional discharge.

Lewis Slatter, 27, of Lord Street, Hindley, attacked the woman in Hindley on May 12.

Wigan magistrates imposed a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £26 victim surcharge.

A Wigan man has denied getting behind the wheel while over the drink-drive limit.

Anthony Holland, 39, of Standishgate, Wigan, is accused of driving a Volkswagen Polo on Holt Street, Hindley, on October 9 with 48 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, exceeding the prescribed limit of 35mcg.

He was remanded on unconditional bail until the next hearing, which will take place at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court on January 16.

A man has admitted attempting to damage both a police car and a police station window.

Adam Sharratt, 36, of no fixed address, tried to cause criminal damage in Wigan on December 14.

Wigan justices imposed a six-month conditional discharge.

A Wigan dad-of-two punched his former boss in the face knocking him unconscious after a chance meeting on a Christmas night out.

Victim Brian Doran, a plant hire firm owner, suffered a bleed on the brain and has been left with a scar on his chin and back of his head.

A judge pointed out to the culprit Nathan Jackson, "It is not unusual for defendants like you to come before the court in respect of single punch manslaughter.”

Jackson’s lawyer Ian Morris told Liverpool Crown Court that he had been waiting a year to learn his fate which had been extremely stressful.

The 26-year-old defendant from Green Gardens, Golborne – who has no previous convictions – wept in the dock as Mr Morris said he had two very young children and is a hard working and trustworthy member of the community.

Sarah Gruffydd, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that the incident happened on December 17 last year outside the Pied Bull public house in Newton-le-Willows.

Jackson’s former boss Mr Doran had been in the pub at a private works party and Jackson was with friends in the public part of the premises.

During the evening words were exchanged between Mr Doran and Alan Larkin, another former employee, and Mr Doran decided to leave as he did not wish to spoil the party.

He went outside and his business partner Sean Quinn joined him and got his son to call a taxi for Mr Doran.

While waiting Jackson and Mr Larkin came over and Jackson was aggressively asking what had happened with Mr Larkin.

“He repeatedly accused him of being out of order and pointing his finger and raising his voice,” said Miss Gruffydd.

People tried to push him back but he continued being aggressive.

The taxi arrived and when Mr Doran went to move around the group to reach the vehicle he was punched in the face by the defendant.

The victim told how “everything went dark” and he came to with two women sitting with him.

The back of his head, which had hit the ground, was hurting and he had no idea what had happened.

There was a lot of blood coming from his head wound and he was rushed by ambulance to hospital where a CT scan showed he had bleeding on the brain.

In an impact statement Mr Doran said he had been left feeling lethargic and for a couple of weeks felt light headed.

He was unable to go back to work for several weeks and only after a gradual phased return. He underwent counselling and after about six months had been able to return to socialising though is far more alert to his surroundings.

Jackson pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Mr Morris said it had been an impulsive, short-lived incident only involving one blow.

Of Jackson he said “He is a family man who acted out of character and has expressed remorse.”

The judge, Recorder Mark Ainsworth said that Jackson had plainly been “drunk, upset and aggressive and you were violent.

"You punched Mr Doran to the face which caused a significant injury to his chin and which has left a scar. “You had also caused him to fall straight to the floor and he banged his head and suffered a significant injury including a subdural haemorrhage.”

Recorder Ainsworth said that he knew it had been on Jackson’s mind that the outcome could have been much more serious.

He sentenced him to 12 months’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months.

He also ordered him to carry out 240 hours’ unpaid work and 10 days’ rehabilitation activities and to pay £500 compensation.

Two men, including one from Wigan borough, have walked free from court after a jury cleared them of sex and violence charges.

Lewis Hardcastle, of Oak Tree Close, Atherton, and Willem Tomlinson, of Honeysuckle Court, Accrington, stood trial at Bolton Crown Court having denied four counts of assault by penetration.

Both had also pleaded not guilty to causing a named woman actual bodily harm on the same day - September 18, 2019 - Hardcastle twice having alleged to have done so.

And after a two-week trial, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all the charges and the judge told the 25-year-olds that they were both free to go.

A man has appeared before Wigan magistrates accused of rape.

Christopher Neeley, 53, of Flimby, Skelmersdale, pleaded not guilty to the offence, which is alleged to have happened between September 1 and December 31, 2018.

He is also accused of sexually assaulting a woman on February 25, 2022 and engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour between January 1, 2017 and June 1, 2022.

He has not yet entered pleas to those charges.

Neeley was remanded on unconditional bail until a hearing at Preston Crown Court on January 23.

A Wigan woman who failed to provide a sample of breath for analysis has been given a community order.

Paula Scott, 60, of Saddleback Road, Norley, pleaded guilty to not giving the specimen in Blackpool on July 1.

Wigan justices imposed a 12-month community order with 10 days of rehabilitation activities and banned her from driving for 28 months.

She must pay a £60 fine, £85 prosecution costs and £114 victim surcharge.

A Wigan man is accused of taking a kitchen knife to a convenience store.

Anthony Donnelly, 44, of Church Street, Golborne, is alleged to have taken the knife to a Morrisons Daily store in Lowton on February 5.

He will appear at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court on January 30 and was remanded on unconditional bail until then.

A Wigan man has been given a community order after being found with class B drug amphetamine.

Stuart Harrison, 42, of Church Street, Golborne, was in possession of the drug on Railway Road, Leigh, on March 21.

Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order with six months of drug rehabilitation and 15 days of rehabilitation activities.

He was also fined £50.

A man who took drugs before getting behind the wheel has been banned for 12 months.

Christopher Ahlgren, 45, of Chapel Street, Leigh, pleaded guilty to driving on September 7 while levels of cocaine and its metabolite benzoylecgonine were above the legal limit for driving.

As well as being disqualified from driving, he must pay a £120 fine, £85 prosecution costs and £48 victim surcharge.

A borough man has pleaded guilty to attacking two people on the same day.

Daniel Hart, 34, of Leigh Road, Atherton, assaulted a man and a woman by beating them on October 23.

He will be sentenced at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court on January 31 and was remanded on conditional bail until then.

A woman who threatened to damage a man's car has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Nikki Pilkington, 34, of Lime Avenue, Leigh, pleaded guilty to making the threats towards Adam Murphy on March 14, as well as failing to attend court on October 11, breaching her bail conditions.

Magistrates imposed an eight-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, because it was an "unprovoked attack of a serious nature".

Pilkington must also attend 10 days of rehabilitation activities.