Alcoholic who locked his mum in shed and 7 others before the courts

William Gifford, 32, of Upper Minety, was appearing in court for his second assault on a family member in two months having pleaded guilty to an offence against his father before Christmas.

The court heard that Gifford was normally a very pleasant and loving son, but that when he had consumed alcohol he became unpredictable and volatile.

An alcohol treatment order imposed as part of the sentence for the previous assault has not yet started and magistrates took the view that the work surrounding those issues should be allowed to take effect.

He will complete the alcohol treatment requirement as previously instructed. For the new offence, Gifford will pay a fine of £80 in addition to prosecution costs and a victim surcharge.

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A 23-year-old man has landed himself behind bars after he breached his suspended prison sentence by carrying out thefts in the town centre.

Brian Bingham, of Croft Road, pleaded guilty to the two charges of theft and one of assault dating back to November and December when he appeared at Swindon Magistrates Court last month.

The court heard how he stole vodka, worth £32 from Asda, assaulted a security guard and stole £15 worth of items from B&M Bargains. Magistrates jailed Bingham for 38 weeks and told him he must pay £115 compensation.

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A woman with 15 previous convictions for theft has once again appeared before magistrates for helping herself to goods from a store.

Natasha Hunt, 32, of Hatherleigh Court, pleaded guilty to stealing various items of an unknown value from B&M Bargains on December 13.

The court heard how Hunt, who accepts stealing to fund her Class A drug addiction, was sent into the store by a man who waited outside for her. She was promised £20 for her part in the crime but did not receive it.

Hunt was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

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Conditions imposed by magistrates on a Swindon woman "set her up to fail", a court has heard.

Michelle Adams, 36, of Sandgate, pleaded guilty to theft when she appeared in court on January 14.

She was given bail to allow a probation report to be compiled under the condition that she adhered to a strict 23-hour curfew.

But two days later she was arrested after failing to meet the curfew requirements.

When she was brought back to the dock the following day, the court heard that an hour out of the house was not sufficient time for Adams to walk to get her methadone prescription and without it she would be tempted to commit crime to buy heroin.

Seeing the logic behind the argument, the magistrates re-released her but amended the curfew to allow her to be out of the house between 8am and noon.

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A man who is to face trial on a charge of causing actual bodily harm has been released on bail by a judge.

Kevin Gaullier, 28, of Union Street, Old Town, appeared at Swindon Crown Court and denied assaulting Samuel Mazzotta on Thursday, June 9 last year.

Judge Tim Mousley QC adjourned the case until May 23 and released him on conditional bail until then.

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A teenager who pleaded guilty to four assaults last year has made such impressive progress with his sentence that magistrates have decided to bring it to a close four months early.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named, was given a youth rehabilitation order to include victim awareness work and a course discouraging the use of weapons among other requirements.

He appeared at Swindon Magistrates' Court on Thursday where the court was provided with a report from the Youth Offending Team.

Not only has he completed the compulsory elements of his order with flying colours, he has also done further victim awareness work of his own volition.

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A 26-year-old man has pleaded guilty to causing £10 worth of damage after smashing a mirror belonging to Sonja Bell.

Jake Bell, of Lansdown Road, appeared before magistrates late last month and was remanded on unconditional bail until, which ended last week.

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Failing to provide a specimen of breath cost Parminder Singh a £230 fine when he appeared before Swindon magistrates on December 29. The bench also banned him from driving for a year.

Singh, 29, of Furnival Avenue, Slough, had denied the charge but changed his plea to guilty. He was ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £30 victim surcharge.