Blackpool: From the courts 10-04-17

Here is a round-up of some of the cases at Blackpool Magistrates Court.
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Carol Stanbridge, 60, fraud

A divorcee turned benefits cheat when she failed to reveal she was receiving money from her husband’s pension which had been awarded to her in a divorce settlement.

Carole Stanbridge, a former nurse, illegally claimed £11,000 in housing and Council Tax benefits over a seven year period.

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Stanbridge, a 60-year-old grandmother, of Heathfield Road, Fleetwood, who works in a greengrocers, pleaded guilty to two offences of dishonestly failing to notify a change in circumstances.

She was sentenced to a 12 months community order, ordered to do 40 hours unpaid work for the community and told to pay £85 costs with £60 victims’ surcharge by

magistrates.Prosecutor, Pam Smith, said Stanbridge illegally claimed £11,000 in benefits from Wyre Council when she failed to declare she was receiving an occupational pension between April 2007 and November 2015.

Gerry Coyle, defending, said his client’s former husband had worked at BAe Systems and in their divorce settlement she had been awarded part of her husband’s pension which came to £168-a-month.

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Stanbridge, who had no previous convictions, believed she would begin receiving the pension money when she turned 60 but it started being paid at 55. She did not realise that at first because the money was paid into a savings account.

A man who claimed he was afraid of being returned to jail as he had been held hostage by other inmates and assaulted while serving a sentence at Preston Prison abused magistrates when he was sent to jail.

David Everton launched a barrage of abuse at the bench after he was sentenced to 14 days.He yelled at them “you have ruined my life”, and kicked the walls as he was taken down to the court cells then shouted and banged on his cell walls.

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Everton was back before the court because he had failed to keep in touch with the probation service after previously being released from prison.

Presiding magistrate, Dorothy Jones, told him: “We regard this as blatantly not keeping in touch with the probation service.”

Everton, 25, of Luton Road, Cleveleys, pleaded guilty to breaching post prison sentence supervision.

The court was told that Everton had previously been sentenced to two months inside after assaulting a former girlfriend by pushing her.

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Kathryn Jamieson-Sinclair, defending, said: “He is afraid of returning to custody. He has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after an incident in Preston Prison where he was held hostage by other prisoners and he was assaulted and threatened.”

John Jones, 29, drink-driving

A former manager was caught drink driving after agreeing to go and buy more alcohol for a party.John Jones, 29, of Rothwell Drive, Fleetwood, pleaded guilty to driving with excess

alcohol without insurance and failing to answer bail.

He was banned from the road for 16 months and fined £160 with £85 costs plus £30 victims’ surcharge by magistrates.

Prosecutor, Pam Smith, said police saw Jones driving a Ford Fiesta on London Street, Fleetwood. on March 10 at 1.45am. A check on the car showed the only insured driver for the car was a woman.

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Jones parked on the Asda car park and when he came out of the store police spoke to him about the car insurance and detected alcohol on his breath.

A breath test showed 59 micrograms of alcohol in his body – 35 is the limit.

Gerry Coyle, defending, said his client, who had no previous convictions, had been at a party. The hostess said more alcohol was needed and as he had only drunk three to four cans he felt okay to go and buy some more using her car.

Jones had worked as manager of a charity at Fleetwood which provided second hand furniture for those in need, but the charity had closed.

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His job had gone and he was finding it difficult to find alternative work.

When Jones was due to come to court his lift let him down and he did not have the money to make the journey.

He had phoned the court and told it that but a warrant for his arrest had been issued.

Stephen Coram, 47, rape

A former soldier has appeared in court charged with raping a mother-of-three.

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Stephen Coram, 47, of Grasmere Road, Blackpool, faces a charge of rape and attempting to rape the woman.

He faces four further allegations of sexually assaulting her and two charges of breaching a restraining order.

The offences are said to have taken place between November last year and March this year in Blackpool.

Corman ‘s lawyer Sue Mugford said her client would deny the allegations.

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Corman was remanded in custody by magistrates who sent his cases for trial at Preston Crown Court on May 10.

Rebecca Garner, 21, obstructing police

A woman lied to police when the car she was a back seat passenger in was stopped.

Rebecca Garner told an officer she had been driving but it was her boyfriend who had been behind the wheel a court was told.

Garner, 21, of Rodney Avenue, St Annes, pleaded guilty to obstructing police.She was fined £159 with £85 costs and ordered to pay £30 victims’ surcharge by magistrates.

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Prosecutor, Pam Smith, said police saw a Citroen which registered as having no insurance on January 21. The car stopped on St David’s Road South, St Annes.

Police saw a man at the wheel with Garner and a male passenger in the back. Garner said she had been driving but then swapped seats.

Kathryn Jamieson-Sinclair, defending, said it was Garner’s car and she impulsively and naively claimed she had been driving in case her boyfriend got into trouble.

Elaine Spiers, 27, breach of the peace

A woman was arrested after she caused a disturbance when she had an early morning drink.

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Elaine Spiers, 27, , of St Annes Road, South Shore, pleaded guilty to breach of the peace and was bound over in the sum of £200 for 12 months by magistrates.Prosecutor, Pam Smith,

said police were called to an address on St Annes Road on April 4 at 10.40am where Spiers was causing damage.

She appeared to have been drinking heavily and was aggressive. She was arrested after threatening to harm herself.