Llanelli vinyl vendor jailed for selling illegal cancer drugs across the EU READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/llanelli-vinyl-vendor-jailed-for-selling-illegal-cancer-drugs-across-the-eu

A man who attacked a bailiff with a pick axe handle has been jailed Martin Pritchard admitted assaulting Josef Minoli who had come to his house to collect unpaid magistrates court fines. He had received a telephone call from his stepson to inform him that the bailiff was at the property looking to collect the debt. When Pritchard arrived back at his house in Wrexham, he became abusive telling Mr Minoli to ‘get the the f*** out”. He then hit the bailiff in the midriff with the pick up handle causing him to fall to the ground. The enforcement officer had been on his phone to the police during the attack. When officers arrived, Pritchard had already fled the scene, but was picked up later. Mold Crown Court heard that Pritchard had arrived back at his house with another person, assaulting the bailiff and then beginning to count down as he held the axe handle over his head. The debtor had been before the court on a number of previous occasions. Mr Pritchard's Barrister stated in court that her client had lost his temper because his step son was alone at the house. The court fine was paid later that day and this, together with the fact that Mr Pritchard’s mother was unwell and that he helped look after her children, was taken into consideration by the Judge. He was jailed for 5 months.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/judge-blasts-decision-jail-man-10973819?ICID=FB_mirror_main

The following news story appeared on SCOOP last night and involves a bailiff from JBW Group. A judge told Birmingham Crown Court that he feared the public would think him "mad" to not send the 32-year-old to prison A violent dad who refused to pay a parking ticket has been jailed after he threatened to stab a fines officer when the penalty spiralled to £400. Robert Hunter was sentenced to 15 months after threatening Craig Fishwick with a kitchen knife when he called to his home on Yarnfield Road, Tyseley. A jury convicted the 32-year-old at Birmingham Crown Court after hearing he told Mr Fishwick: "You're not taking my f ****** car, I'll stab you." Jailing the dad for threatening a person with a bladed article, Judge Roderick Henderson said: "The public would think I was mad if I did not send to prison immediately someone who behaves like this." Hunter received the fine last year, but left the fee unpaid, the Birmingham Mail reports. Mr Fishwick, a collections officer with 20 years experience, went to Hunter's home with a bill for £400 on July 16, but received no answer when he knocked the door. He pushed a note through Hunter's door and later received an aggressive call on his mobile. When Mr Fishwick returned, Hunter opened his front door holding the knife and threatened the fine collector, making a 'stabbing motion' and lunging forward. But Mr Fishwick said Hunter never got closer than four feet away from him. Judge Henderson said: "You got a parking ticket and you neglected to deal with it, I suspect. "Lots of us have been irritated by parking tickets. "While there was some impulsiveness in what you did, you knew what it was about, you knew you were stuck with the fine. "You chose to go to the door with a knife." The judge went on: "If you had connected you might have caused very serious injuries. "The reason the courts and public get so wound up about knives is because they cause devastating injuries and can kill someone." The court heard Hunter had a previous conviction for criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon from 2009. In that incident he smashed the window of a bus with an extendable baton after a passenger gave him a dirty look for parking in a bus stop. Martin Liddiard, defending, said since that incident Hunter had become a dad-of-two and was settled down and working. He said: "It was spur of the moment and reactive. It was very short-lived." http://www.scoop.it/t/lacef-news http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/youre-not-taking-f-car-5799147

The following story appears on SCOOP today: http://www.scoop.it/t/lacef-news An angry householder, armed with a knife, chased two court bailiffs down a street whilst threatening to kill them. Arfan Bhatti, 46, who was jailed for six months, was furious when the officials arrived to pursue a £132 debt in relation to a traffic fine from a magistrates court. The bailiffs claim Bhatti chased them for about 100 yards putting them in fear of their lives as he yelled he was going to "stab" and "kill" them. He then went back into his home in Byfield Drive, Wigston, before reappearing without the large kitchen knife to shout and swear at them, as they took refuge in their van. The victims, who had already called for the police, drove away. When arrested he claimed he did not initially realise the two men were court bailiffs. Mr Murphy said the background to the incident related to a £332 fine from Hertfordshire Magistrates, towards which he had already paid £200. A warrant was issued and on March 25 last year the bailiffs arrived at 10am and, despite cars on the driveway, there was no response to their knocking. One of them went to the back door and another went to the kitchen window, where the defendant was seen inside brandishing a large knife – prompting them to flee and one of them dropped his clipboard. Mr Murphy said the victims had told him they were "officers of the court." Bhatti pleaded guilty to possessing a knife in a public place and causing an affray. Judge Michael Fowler said: "I accept it wasn't planned, but you responded to those bailiffs carrying out their duty in an unacceptable way.

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/local/darlington/11552200.Sanctioned_man_who_stole_to_eat_is_jailed/

The following press article is a few months old but nonetheless it does demonstrate that courts will impose a custodial sentence on debtors who threaten bailiffs with violence. http://swns.com/news/driver-jailed-threatening-shoot-clampers-toy-lizard-32810/ A man who threatened to shoot two bailiffs with a plastic LIZARD has been jailed for eight months. Shane Burton, 45, pointed the toy at two men who were clamping his Land Rover and shouted “get away from the car, or I will shoot you.” A court heard bailiffs Christopher Heath and Ricky Knight – who had a warrant to clamp his car for unpaid parking fines – believed the square object Burton pointed at them was a handgun. Burton’s threats *-shouted from the window of his flat – caused the ‘shocked’ and ‘scared’ men to take the clamp off and drive away in a hurry. He was later arrested on April 19 last year after the pair reported the incident to police. On Tuesday, Burton, from Sneinton, Notts., was jailed at Nottingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Caging him, Judge Michael Stokes QC said: “We cannot have people, even with a pretend object, pointing them at bailiffs, threatening to shoot them and chasing them down the road. “It’s very odd he should pick up the lizard.” The court heard Burton had been in a dispute over the parking tickets, and claimed his vehicle was cloned – meaning he was getting tickets for another vehicle Prosecutor Jim Metcalf told the court Burton had picked up the nearest thing to hand. He said: “They (the bailiffs) took the clamp off and they drove away. “As they drove off, the defendant came out of the flats, got into his Land Rover and followed them.” Defending Burton, Adrian Reynolds, described what happened as spontaneous and there was a “genuine belief” by his client that he was being wronged over the parking tickets. Mr Reynolds added: “He forgot in the heat of the moment these were just two human beings doing their job.