Page 4 - Emma Thacker News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

By Advertiser Reporter Screenshot from video taken of the Halifax fire Picture: SUBMITTED A TOWN centre man has appeared in court accused of setting fire to the Halifax bank. Charles Bacchus Laforest, 58, is said to have poured accelerant and set the fire that caused £17,000-worth of damage to the Bridge Street branch. Prosecutor Rachel Bailey said the bank was shut for at least seven days after the fire on February 1, 2020. She asked the magistrates to send the case to the crown court. Appearing before Swindon Magistrates’ ...

By Advertiser Reporter Pictures: PEXELS A HOMELESS man ended up in court over an argument sparked by the speed with which a Tesco customer was scanning in a pack of crisps. Michael Ashton, 47, was said to have been in a hurry to reach a hostel in Chippenham so he could warm up his food before spending a night on the streets. He was behind his victim at the self-service checkouts in the Tesco Metro in Emery Gate, Chippenham, on October 11 last year. Prosecutor Graham Dono told Swindon Magistrates’ Court that Ashton said words to...

By Advertiser Reporter Sainsbury's Trowbridge and, inset, Swindon Magistrates' Court Pictures: GOOGLE/ADVER A WOMAN threatened to stab a Sainsbury’s worker with a hypodermic needle, a court heard. Melanie Shawcross, 42, threatened the male member of staff at the Trowbridge supermarket after he challenged her about stealing alcohol. Graham Dono, prosecuting, told Swindon Magistrates’ Court the woman said: “I’ve got a needle in here and if you come near me I’ll stab you. I’ll f***ing stab you.” Shawcross then pulled t...

Wilko, Greenbridge Pictures: ADVER/PEXELS A SERIAL shoplifter who stole a Wilko pressure washer just three days after being given a suspended sentence or burglary has been jailed. Beau Houghton, who has 83 theft offences on his record, was spared an immediate jail sentence by the district judge on Monday, March 1. The 44-year-old had admitted stealing a Japanese tea grinder in a non-dwelling burglary at the Paramount Buildings on Princes Street, opposite the magistrates’ court, and also pleaded to a number of other shop thefts. On Friday, Swindon magistrates heard he’d missed an ...

By Advertiser Reporter Covingham Park, where the boy ran down his victim; inset: a McDonald's sign Pictures: GOOGLE/PIXABAY A BOY who ran down a 69-year-old woman in front of her two grandchildren then drove away laughing was branded “out of control” by a Swindon judge. The 14-year-old, who cannot be named as he is under 18, was sentenced to 18 months in custody for a string of violent offending dating back to November 2019.  Sentencing the boy to the 18-month detention and training order, District Judge Joanna Dickens said: �...