Courts

A MAN who drove his car through Yeovil town centre with part of its wing hanging off after crashing into another vehicle has been given a two-year driving ban and ordered to carry out 280 hours' unpaid work.

Craig Daniel Trott drove off on the wrong side of the road with jagged metal sticking out from his car and ignored police lights and sirens as officers tried to pull him over.

The smell of burning rubber and grinding noises were coming from his vehicle until he was confronted with a dead end and then fled on foot before being caught.

Trott, 22, of Lime Kiln, Yeovil, pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving in Yeovil on December 1 when he appeared at a previous hearing before South Somerset and Mendip Magistrates. He also admitted failing to stop after an accident.

The court was told that Trott had driven along Stars Lane believed to be in excess of the 30mph speed limit and ignored attempts by a police officer to stop.

After colliding with a parked car near Addlewell Lane, he continued to drive with substantial damage to his vehicle's front wing which had jagged metal sticking out of the side.

He drove into the Goldenstones car park and ran off before being apprehended.

Defending solicitor Michaela Rose said Trott accepted he had driven beyond what was reasonable and had then had the accident with the parked car.

"However, he does not accept he was driving over the speed limit and the police vehicle was unmarked and did not illuminate any lights," she said.

"On the night in question the road was also icy and had not been salted, however he accepts he should have taken the condition of the road into consideration."

She said the offence had been out of character and he was extremely remorseful.

"He had not been drinking and this seems to be put down to the immaturity of a young man and someone who did not take into consideration the impact of what he was doing.

"In hindsight, he can see it was a silly thing to have done and has learned his lesson."

Alongside the driving disqualification and unpaid work, the magistrates ordered Trott to pay a £60 victim surcharge and £85 costs. He must also sit an extended retest before he can resume driving after the expiry of his ban.

A MILBORNE Port man stole jewellery from his own mother and pawned it for cash.

David Byrne helped himself to various items and was then caught selling it to the local branch of Cash Generator.

"He very clearly accepts that he has a drug problem and these were acquisitive offences," said defending solicitor Helena Suffield.

Byrne, 23, of Prankherds Road, pleaded guilty that between August 10 and 24 at Milborne Port he stole jewellery of an unknown value belonging to Dawn Brock, when he appeared before South Somerset and Mendip Magistrates

He also admitted committing fraud by falsely representing himself as the owner of the stolen jewellery intending to make a gain of £90 for himself on August 13, along with a similar offence involving a sum of £30 on August 23.

Guilty pleas were also entered to two matters of shoplifting involving the theft of groceries and lager worth £12.99 from the Spar shop in Forest Hill, Yeovil, on January 9, and a bottle of wine from the Co-op at Milborne Port on December 30.

Julyan Stephens, prosecuting, said Byrne took the jewellery which belonged to his mother from her home in Milborne Port.

"Then on two subsequent occasions he went to Cash Generator in Yeovil and filled out paperwork to say he had legal responsibility for these items," he said.

"Fortunately all the jewellery was recovered and, when the defendant was arrested, he admitted the offences during a police interview."

Miss Suffield said Byrne had indicated that he would like to be considered for a drug rehabilitation order.

"He is willing to engage with the probation service and is very open and honest about his problems," she added.

The magistrates adjourned the case until February 15 for a pre-sentence report to be prepared. Until then Byrne was granted unconditional bail.

DESPERATE not to let his grandchildren down during the festive season, a man went stealing toys from a Yeovil department store to put under the Christmas tree.

Stephan Broome had had his benefits stopped under new government regulations and had no money to buy presents.

However, when he was stopped by security staff leaving Beales with a stash of gifts he said "You've got me bang to rights", South Somerset and Mendip Magistrates heard.

Broome, 55, of South Street, Bridport, pleaded guilty to stealing a remote-controlled Porsche, a Dino Popper, a Lord of the Rings Lego set and a Ninjago Lego set worth £174.49 on December 17.

Prosecutor Christine Hart said Broome entered Beales in the High Street and was seen putting a number of items into a carrier bag.

She said: "He then left making no attempt to pay. Two people followed him out of the store and, after he went inside another shop, they stopped him as he left and found the items still in the bag."

Helena Suffield, defending, said it was a very unfortunate set of circumstances as Broome had been out of trouble for many years and clearly something had prompted him to do it.

"He has a very large family, including several grandchildren, and has been on benefits for a bad back and arthritis, but under new regulations his money has been stopped," she said.

"He was desperate not to look bad on Christmas Day so went out and stole the toys hoping to give them to his grandchildren.

"He bitterly regrets what he has done but it was in very dire financial circumstances."

The magistrates imposed a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered Broome to pay £40 towards costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

A YEOVIL man given a suspended prison sentence for drugs offences had the order activated after appearing in court again on similar charges.

South Somerset and Mendip Magistrates were told that Ashley Martin Bogacki had been using cannabis to help him sleep after suffering a broken wrist.

But after being arrested by police the 23-year-old, of Neatham Road, was back in the dock again and pleaded guilty to possessing a quantity of cannabis on January 6 and being in breach of his suspended sentence.

Prosecutor Emma Chetland said Bogacki was stopped by police and, when he was searched, handed over a small tin foil wrap containing green vegetable matter.

"He was arrested and confirmed the cannabis belonged to him and was for his own personal use. It was tested found to be 0.21g," she said.

The court heard that Bogacki was currently subject to an eight-week suspended prison sentence with a community order for unpaid work imposed by the court at Yeovil on May 22 last year for similar offences.

John Killah, defending, said Bogacki had the cannabis to help him get to sleep.

"He recently suffered a double fracture to his wrist and the cannabis helped him to not stay up all night as he had been doing and it helped alleviate his pain," he said.

He added that Bogacki worked as a self-employed carpenter and hoped to get back to work in a few weeks.

The magistrates revoked the original community order imposed with the suspended sentence and implemented a three-week prison term as part of the suspended sentence.

ARRESTED for an unrelated matter, a Yeovil man was found in possession of some drugs when he was searched by the police.

While being questioned, James Robert Moreton produced quantities of cocaine and cannabis and was then arrested for that offence.

Moreton, 37, of Preston Road, pleaded guilty to being in possession of the class A and B drugs on September 6 when he appeared before South Somerset and Mendip Magistrates.

Prosecutor Julyan Stephens said that Moreton was taken into custody by police for a different matter and was searched.

"He produced some cannabis from his pocket and four small rocks of crack cocaine that were in his wallet," he said.

Both drugs were analysed and found to be 3.1g of cannabis and 1.98g of cocaine.

Defending solicitor Chris Ivory said it was the first time that Moreton had ever appeared in court for a drugs offence.

"He is not a regular drug user and his main problem is alcohol," he explained to the magistrates.

"Until three weeks ago he was alcohol dependent, but since then he has abstained from drinking and puts that down to the assistance given to him by the probation service. He was given a community order in December last year and this is the first time he has ever engaged with professional services."

He added that Moreton was also being referred to an alcohol awareness programme to help him deal with issues.

For possession of the cocaine the magistrates fined Moreton £73. For the cannabis offence he was fined a further £37, along with a £15 victim surcharge.

The magistrates also made an order for all the drugs to be forfeited and destroyed.

A DRINK-DRIVER who had trouble parking his car was seen by a witness to urinate on his vehicle after getting out.

The police were called who found Michael McCormack close to the scene and they noticed he smelled of alcohol and was swaying.

A roadside breath test was conducted which McCormack failed and he was taken to the police station, South Somerset and Mendip Magistrates were told.

McCormack, 23, of Rydderch Way, Crewkerne, admitted driving with excess alcohol in Kent Road, South Chard, on New Year's Day.

Prosecutor Emma Chetland said the witness was at home when he was woken at 2.45am and saw a Ford Fiesta drive into his road and the driver appeared to have considerable problems parking his car.

"When the driver got out he urinated on the vehicle before walking away and the witness believed he was drunk and called the police," she said.

"He was found nearby and said he had had trouble parking because an ambulance had taken his parking place."

He failed a roadside breath test and, after being taken to the police station, took a further test which showed a reading of 48mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg of alcohol.

Appearing unrepresented, McCormack said that he did not urinate on his car but had just been checking around the vehicle to ensure he had parked properly.

"An ambulance had come down the road and I was trying to reverse into the parking space," he said.

The magistrates banned McCormack from driving for 12 months and fined him £270 with £85 costs and a £27 victim surcharge.

A NAVAL officer facing an allegation of assault has had the case against him withdrawn.

Alexander James Twigg, 26, of London Road, Riverhead, but based at RNAS Yeovilton, appeared before South Somerset and Mendip Magis- trates pre- viously charged with assaulting Debra Barratt by beating during an incident on December 7 at Yeovil.

The case had been adjourned for the evidence to be further considered by the police. When it came back before the court at Yeovil the magistrates agreed to a request from the Crown Prosecution Service to withdraw the charge against the defendant.