In The Dock: Latest cases in Swindon Magistrates' Court

M4 speeder

Scott Lee Goodwin, of Christian Malford, was sentenced in Swindon Magistrates' Court on November 6 for speeding above 50mph on the M4.

The 59-year-old was caught driving on the M4 junction 19 eastbound on September 30 last year, on a section of the motorway that was under a temporary 50mph speed restriction.

Goodwin was seen driving at 59mph.

However, magistrates chose not to ban him from the roads, as the defendant depends on his driving licence to regularly visit his 95-year-old father in Loughborough and to go to him when he has falls.

Instead, magistrates have fined him £757, and ordered that he pay a £303 surcharge and £120 in costs, leaving him with a total bill of 1180.

He has also been given three penalty points on his driving licence.

Repeated attacks on woman

Dwayne Bryan, of Pinehurst Road, originally pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman on May 30 but denied assaulting her and causing actual bodily harm on September 12. He then changed his plea to guilty on November 3, 2026.

The court heard that the attack caused a woman actual bodily harm, which is a level of physical injury that sits between common assault and the more serious offence of grievous bodily harm.

The 41-year-old had already been on bail for assault against the same victim and with a child present.

He has now been sent to jail for 40 weeks, and must pay a £184 surcharge.

Farm park poacher

Leonard Smith, of Birch Road in Tadley, Hampshire, stood trial in Swindon Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, November 3, charged with trespassing in pursuit of game.

The court heard how the 23-year-old had been caught hunting for game, woodcocks, snipes and conies at Roves Farm Park in Sevenhampton on Sunday, April 13, 2025.

Roves Farm is a popular family-friendly working farm just off the A420 that offers tractor rides and seasonal activities for children such as pumpkin picking.

Smith originally denied ever trespassing on the site for poaching, but magistrates found him guilty at trial.

The incident has been described as "daytime" trespassing, although it's unclear whether the site was open to the public at the time.

Poaching is the illegal hunting, capturing, killing, or taking of wild animals on land where a person does not have permission to do so.

Poaching offences are treated seriously because they can cause damage to farmland, disrupt wildlife management, and undermine legitimate countryside activities.

Laws such as the Game Act 1831 were introduced to protect landowners' rights and wildlife from unlawful hunting, and the maximum sentence for daytime poaching in the UK is up to 51 weeks in prison.

However, the Hampshire man has been fined £200 for the crime after being convicted at trial.

He must also pay an £80 government surcharge.

Speeding near Swindon school

Stael Santos, of Victoria Road in Swindon, appeared in the dock on November 3, 2026, and pleaded guilty to speeding past a Swindon school and driving without a licence.

The 62-year-old Swindon man was caught speeding in a Kia Venga on Queens Drive in Swindon on October 31 last year.

The road has recently had speed indicator devices installed after concerns about speeding on the road next to Holy Cross Catholic Primary School.

Santos has now been fined £138 and given three penalty points on his driving licence.