THESE are the latest cases to have been heard before the bench at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court.

Man accused of causing actual bodily harm to two people

A man is due to face court after he was charged with assaulting two people and causing £1,000 of damage to a phone.

Matthew Michael O'Donnell, 31, and of no fixed abode, is accused of causing actual bodily harm and criminal damage in Barrow on August 21.

The defendant is due to appear at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Barrow man denies harassing woman over five-month period

Jonathan Wren pleaded not guilty to the offence when he appeared at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court.

The 47-year-old, of Gosport Street in Barrow, is alleged to have harassed the woman between January 1 and May 27 2020.

The defendant is due to stand trial at the same court on March 2.

Man charged with damaging window at Barrow disability charity

A man has appeared in court accused of causing damage to a disability centre.

Matthew Howe is alleged to have caused £400 of damage to a window at Barrow and District Disability Association on November 29.

The 20-year-old, of Collingwood Street in Barrow, was due to appear at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court on Monday but his case was adjourned.

He is now due to appear at the same court on January 14.

Man to face court over assault charge

A man is due to face court after he was charged with harassment and assault.

Michael Cooper, 22, of Hood Street in Barrow, is alleged to have assaulted Kenneth Bradford by beating him on September 5.

He is also accused of using threatening behaviour to cause harassment, alarm, or distress.

The incidents are said to have happened in Broad Close.

He previously pleaded not guilty to both the charges and will appear at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court on January 19.

Court sentences Barrow drink driver

A man has been banned from the road after he was convicted of drink driving.

Lewis Elliot Taylor, 27, pleaded guilty to the offence when he appeared before the bench at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court.

The court heard the defendant had driving his Fiat Panda on Abbey Road in Barrow on December 4 with 68 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, over the limit of 35.

Taylor, of Lightburn Avenue in Ulverston, was banned for 18 months and fined £125.

Man accused of stealing items worth £10,000 from house in Windermere

A man has appeared in court accused of stealing items worth more than £10,000 from a house using violence.

Tyler James McShane was bailed after he appeared at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court to face the charge.

The 18-year-old is alleged to have trespassed into a houses in Craig Walk, Windermere on March 21 and subject a woman to violence to steal items.

The defendant, of Oakthwaite Road in the town, is due to appear for a hearing at Carlisle Crown Court on February 1 ahead of a trial.

Court grants domestic violence protection order against Barrow man

A man has been served a domestic violence protection order banning him from contacting a woman.

David Gibney, 54, of Abbotsmead Approach in Barrow, was made the subject of the order at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court following an application by police.

Under the order he must not molest, use or threaten violence against the women or contact her indirectly or directly for 28 days.

Disqualified driver jailed after using fake number plate on M6

A man who used a false number plate to avoid detection has been jailed for 18 weeks after driving while disqualified.

Christopher Paul Warburton admitted that he drove his Ford Focus on the M6 between junctions 35 and 36 while disqualified on September 23.

South Cumbria Magistrates' Court heard the 38-year-old, of Grimshaw Street in Preston, used a false number plate, court papers said.

He also admitted driving without insurance and using a fraudulent registration plate and was banned from holding a licence for a further 36 months.

 

Barrow man denies harassing staff at GP surgery​

A man has denied harassing staff at a medical practice.

George David Bell, 55, of Hogue Street in Barrow, is alleged to have harassed staff at Compass Medical Practice in Blackpool by calling 'numerous' times and staying silent.

He is alleged to have committed the offence on September 22 and 23.

Mr Bell pleaded not guilty at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court and is due to stand trial March 2.

Barrow drink driver double the limit gets ban

A man who was double the legal limit for alcohol has been banned from the road.

Rowan Alexander McClure admitted that he drove his Audi A7 on Barrow's Salthouse Road while over the limit on November 13.

South Cumbria Magistrates' Court heard the 30-year-old had 71 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, over the limit of 35.

McClure, of Cloisters Avenue in Barrow, was banned from driving for 18 months and fined £500 for the offence.

On top of that he was told to pay a victim surcharge of £50 and court costs of £85.

Barrow man admits assaulting woman and possessing cocaine

A man has admitted a string of offences including assault and drug possession

Khian Murt pleaded guilty to causing £500 in damage to a vehicle owned by Douglas Roberts and that he possessed class A drug cocaine.

He also assaulted Megan Phear.

The 19-year-old defendant, or Urswick Green in Barrow, committed the offences on October 16, South Cumbria Magistrates' Court heard.

He was ordered to pay £610 in compensation and to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work.

Barrow woman charged with perverting the course of justice

A Barrow woman who has been accused of dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice is due to appear in court this morning.

Shannon Louise Heath, 22, of Cross Street has been charged of driving dangerously on West Shore Road on August 25, 2019.

Then the following day, she has been accused of intent to pervert the course of public justice by making a false report

suggesting that a vehicle had been stolen so as to evade prosecution for serious driving offences, which had a tendency to pervert the course of public justice.

She is due to appear at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court this morning.

Barrow man hit with restraining order against own parents

A man has been made the subject of a restraining order against his parents after he asked for money to pay off a drug dealer.

Jonathan Brett Griffiths was hauled before magistrates after he was charged with harassing the members of his family.

The 41-year-old Barrow man pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment involving Carol and John Griffiths.

He was said to pursued the course of conduct between December 22 and 29 last year.

South Cumbria Magistrates' Court was told that in that time the defendant made unwanted contact with his parents and demands for money.

In the seven-day period, he was said to have phoned his parents and turned up their home to ask for money.

The court was told he had asked for the money to pay off a drug dealer, to buy tobacco and top up his gas meter.

In total Griffiths' parents gave him £170.

The defendant was brought to court as quickly as possible due to the case involving domestic violence, court papers said.

Magistrates, led by chair of the bench Leslie Johnson, took the defendant's guilty plea into account when imposing the sentence.

Griffiths, who gave his address as Raglan Court in Barrow, was sentenced to 120 hours of unpaid work for both offences.

He was told pay £90 compensation to John Griffiths and £80 to Carol Griffiths.

Under the terms of the restraining order, the defendant is banned from directly or indirectly contacting his parents or visiting the street where they live.

The order will be place for a year.

The defendant was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £95 and £85 in prosecution costs.

Britain's Got Talent finalist Kate Nicholas awarded £4k after dogs mauled

A talent show finalist has been awarded thousands of pounds after her dogs were savagely attacked in a park.

Kate Nicholas wowed millions of viewers as she and her collie Gin danced their way to the finals of Britain's Got Talent in 2008.

Ms Nicholas was the victim of a vicious attack last year while walking her three pooches in the field by Great Wood, Waberthwaite, a court heard.

The dog-lover was with her three canines, Dash, Ice and Zoom on Monday April 5 when she encountered Stephen Cummings.

Cummings, of Smithy Wood Farm in Waberthwaite, was with his four lurchers - Boss, Fury, Chaos and Caeser - when they began attacking Ms Nicholas' canines, South Cumbria Magistrates' Court heard.

The 37-year-old hit his dogs with a shovel, the court heard, but they continued their attack.

Prosecutors said when Ms Nicholas tried to intervene, she was bitten and threw her dog Zoom over a fence for safety.

Ms Nicholas received puncture wounds to the right knee, right hand, left arm and leg which required paper stitches, it was said.

Her dog Dash was rushed to the vets after sustaining multiple horrific injuries and was on life support for two days before undergoing surgery.

It is unknown what the lasting effect of the injuries will be.

Ice had four major wounds including chunks bitten from her armpit and front paws area.

She was also taken to the vets and was operated on but it is unknown the long-term prognosis as she is currently struggling to use her front left leg.

Zoom suffered three wounds on her legs - two of which had to be stitched at the vets.

Cummings pleaded guilty to four dangerous dog offences when he appeared at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Cummings denied charges of owning dogs dangerously out of control which caused injury to Ms Nicholas and her three dogs. Those charged were dismissed and no evidence was offered by prosecutors, court document said.

The court issued destruction orders for Boss, Fury and Caeser.

Cummings claimed the pets had already been destroyed, however no evidence was presented to the court so three destruction orders were put in place.

The court ordered that Chaos is kept under proper control and a lead and muzzle must be worn in public places at all times.

The court warned that if any other incidents take place, Chaos will also ordered to be destroyed.

Cummings has been fined £1,150, ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a victim surcharge of £115.

He has also been told to pay £3969.74 in compensation.

Kate and Gin appeared on the second series of the TV variety show, eventually losing out to street dancer George Sampson.

Five years later, the television star went on to join the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, embarking on a tour in Afghanistan as part of the 1st Military Working Dogs Regiment.