THE father of a handicapped baby who failed to carry out unpaid work while supporting his young family has been given a six-week suspended jail sentence.
“Attending appointments with the probation service has not been uppermost in his mind,” Michael Smith’s solicitor Michael Hinchliffe told Fenland magistrates.
“I would urge you to be merciful in this case, because of the problems with the young child.”
Smith, 22, of Station Road, March, was ordered to carry out a total of 220 hours of unpaid work earlier this year, for offences of assault and theft. He admitted missing work sessions on August 11 and September 22, the second time he had come to court for breaching a work order.
“We have sympathy for the defendant, who has been doing his best to support his partner,” said presiding magistrate Jane Melloy.
The court revoked Smith’s work orders and re-sentenced him to the suspended jail term. As part of the suspended sentence order, Smith will be supervised by the probation service and take part in a thinking skills programme.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here