Blackpool: From the courts 15-09-17

Here is the latest round-up of some of the cases at Blackpool Magistrates Court.
Blackpool Magistrates' CourtBlackpool Magistrates' Court
Blackpool Magistrates' Court

James Dickson, 28, careless driving, failure to stop after an accident

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The behaviour of a transport manager for a funeral director’s was described by a judge as shocking after he crashed into two cars and fled the accident scene. 

James Dickson drove away with his car bonnet buckled and steam pouring from the engine.

When questioned by police about two months later he lied saying he had previously sold the car and he had driven in another vehicle to Bolton that day.

Police then checked number plate recognition records covering the motorway and found no record of the car Dickson said he had driven to Bolton in.

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Dickson, 29, of Cranbrook Avenue, Bispham, pleaded guilty to careless driving and failing to stop after an accident and report it and not giving information relating to the driver of a car.

He was sentenced to a 12 months community order with 200 hours of unpaid work for the community, disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay £300 to the owner of a Jaguar written off in the crash with £300 costs plus

£85 victims’ surcharge by District Judge James Hatton.

The judge told him: “This incident is pretty shocking because of the way you dealt with it. 

“When you were interviewed by police you were trying to deceive your way out of the predicament.”

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Prosecutor, Jim Mowbray, said a Ford Mondeo was seen colliding with a parked Jaguar which then shunted into a Ford on Red Bank Road, Bispham, on February 25 about 9.30am, before being driven off in a seriously damaged condition.

Boy, 17, rape and sexual assault. Boy, 15, breach of Sexual Harm Prevention Order

A teenager who is being investigated for sexually assaulting girls on a camping trip organised by the Youth Offending Team has appeared at court charge with double rape. 

The 17-year-old and another 15-year-old male were given bail by police investigating the alleged assaults on the trip which included teenage girl offenders. 

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While on that bail, the 17-year-old is alleged to have committed further sex offences. 

He appeared before District Judge Jeff Brailsford sitting at Blackpool Youth Court. The Blackpool 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons,faced three charges of rape involving two girls aged 15. He also faces two charges of sexually assaulting the girls. 

He further faces three allegations that he broke the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order imposed on him at Preston Crown Court by having the two girls in his home, deleting his Facebook account and contacting the girls on social media. 

That court order was put in place in May this year when he was convicted of the rape of a girl he was babysitting. He was put under the supervision of the Youth Offending team which organised the trip as part of his rehabilitation.

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The Judge ruled the latest allegations were “grave crimes” and must be dealt with at Crown Court. 

The teenager’s lawyer Brett Chappell did not apply for bail and his client was remanded in youth custody until he appears at the higher court on October 18. 

The second youth who is also on bail pending the closure of the police investigation into what went on the supervised camping trip is also on Sexual Harm Prevention Order imposed earlier this year. 

That was imposed by Blackpool Magistrates Court after he admitted demanding girls as young as 12 sent him explicit photographs of themselves via the phone app Snapchat.

Nigel Wilde, 37, theft

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A man with a prolific criminal record stole to buy street drugs.

Nigel Wilde, who has 200 previous offences to his name, was on a drug rehabilitation programme but the heroin substitute amount of methadone he was prescribed was not strong enough a court was told.

Wilde,  37, of Raikes Parade, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to theft.

He was fined £40 and ordered to pay £63 compensation.

Prosecutor, Martine Connah, said Wilde and another man went into Boots, Bank Hey Street, on July 13, and stole three tubes of face cream valued at £126.

Jamie Heap, 25, breach of restraining order

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A man was arrested after waving at and speaking to his former girlfriend in the street.
Jamie Heap, 25, of Seathwaite Avenue, Mereside, pleaded guilty to breaching a restraining order which banned him from contacting his ex.
He was fined £180 with £85 costs and ordered to pay £30 victims’ surcharge by District Judge James Hatton.