Blackpool: From the courts 09-03-18

David Logan, 37, sending threatening messages

A father threatened to poke out the eyes of Blackpool Council’s education department officials and roll them down the street.

David Logan, who was furious because he had received letters from the department stating his children were not regularly attending school, also said he would send a bomb to the department.

Logan, 37, of Wensleydale Avenue, Grange Park, pleaded guilty to send two threatening messages.

He was sentenced to 10 weeks jail, suspended for 12 months, put on a six weeks curfew from 8pm to 6am and ordered to pay £85 costs with £115 victims’ surcharge.

Prosecutor, Pam Smith, said a pupil welfare officer at the Council’s education department heard two messages on the department’s answer phone from Logan on February 17.

The defendant swore repeatedly in the messages, threatening to poke out officials eyes and send a bomb to the department.

He had a previous conviction for sending a threatening message to the security manager of Great Plumpton’s fracking site.

The night before the offence Logan, who had a drink problem, had been to a relative’s 60th birthday party and got very drunk.

He got up the next morning, still drunk, and found two letters had been delivered claiming his children were not regularly going to school.

Jay Nicholson, 21, failed to provide a specimen for drug testing

A factory worker refused to take a blood test for drugs in his system because he was frightened of needles.

Jay Nicholson, 21, of Thursfield Avenue, Marton, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen for drug testing.

He was sentenced to a six months community order with up to 10 days rehabilitation to be supervised by the probation service, put on an eight weeks tagged curfew from 9pm to 7am, banned from driving for 18 months and ordered to pay £85 costs with £85 victims’ surcharge.

Prosecutor, Pam Smith, said police stopped Nicholson on February 14 at 11.25am, after seeing him drive an Audi onto Hawes Side Lane.

Nicholson admitted to officers he had smoked a cannabis joint earlier that day and a drugs swipe showed he was positive for the drug.

When asked to provide a blood sample to test for drugs, he refused saying he had a fear of needles.

Suzanne Mugford, defending, said her client had volunteered to officers he had smoked cannabis earlier.

When Nicholson was younger he had been in hospital and had a very bad experience when blood was taken from him.

Since then he had refused any blood tests. He had believed he had a medical defence not to give the sample.

In a report to the court, probation officer Lesley Whittaker, said Nicholson had admitted using up to £35 of cannabis each day.

Jordan Whatmough, 21, burglary

A man who was £7,000 in debt stole from his former workplace at a Blackpool restaurant.

Jordan Whatmough was suffering from depression and had taken out loans but his spending got out of control.

Whatmough, a 21-year-old hotel worker, of Marlhill Road, Grange Park, pleaded guilty to burglary.

He was sentenced to a 12 month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work for the community and ordered to pay £660 compensation.

Presiding magistrate, Michael Leigh, told him: “This was deliberate targeting, in breach of trust and there was a degree of planning to it.”

Prosecutor, Pam Smith, said Whatmough had worked at the West Coast Rock Cafe, Abingdon Street, but his employment was terminated in January.

On February 6, Whatmough went to a bar where his former boss at the cafe was drinking.

On February 12 the boss found a black box containing £660 missing from the restaurant’s safe and on checking CCTV saw Whatmough stealing it.

When interviewed by police Whatmough admitted stealing the safe key from his former boss’ bag in the bar and then later replacing the key.

In a report to the court, probation officer Lesley Whittaker, said Whatmough had worked at the restaurant for two years and believed he had been dismissed for no good reason after he had been in hospital.

He had taken his former boss’s key after drinking.

Brett Chappell, defending, said his client, who had no previous convictions, had suffered 18 months depression anxiety and loneliness.

To combat this he said he had taken out loans to buy nice things.

It got out of hand and he started getting demands from loan companies.