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Man jailed after breaching asbo on the day it was issued





The behaviour of Brian Hanton, aged 52, of no fixed abode, had been deemed so disruptive that Reading magistrates imposed a three-year order on him on Friday, November 15.
The order prohibited him from possessing or consuming alcohol in any public place in West Berkshire and being in an intoxicated state in any public place within the district, including train stations. He was also forbidden from pestering shop staff, restaurants and cafés for food without offering payment.
Mr Hanton was issued with the asbo after pleading guilty to nine offences, including public-order offences, being drunk and disorderly in a public place and shoplifting in recent months.
However, he breached the order within hours of it being imposed after boarding a train with a can of beer and disembarking at Newbury railway station in an intoxicated state. Mr Hanton has been jailed for four weeks.
West Berkshire anti-social behaviour officer, Pc Peter Duffy, said: “The Asbo was achieved following persistent offending by Mr Hanton in Newbury. He was given many opportunities to change his behaviour by the police and courts, but he refused to do this and continued with his disruptive behaviour.
“Mr Hanton’s behaviour and shoplifting was having a significant impact on the local community.
“He was being arrested on a daily basis, but did not take these chances to change his behaviour. The Asbo was designed to prevent Mr Hanton from drinking alcohol in public and to protect the community from his behaviour.
“However the prison sentence sends out the message that if asbos are not taken seriously, individuals will be dealt with robustly.”
The jailing of Mr Hanton follows the 10-week imprisonment of 64-year-old Peter May after he breached his asbo twice within days of it being imposed in October.
Mr May, whose behaviour was described as “devastatingly anti-social” by the prosecution, was also issued with a two-year ‘super asbo’, which prohibits him from publicly drinking alcohol within one mile of Newbury Market Place.



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