From the courts

A MAN from Earley has been banned from driving after pleading guilty to drink driving.

Jonathan Edwards, 39, of Maiden Place, appeared at Reading Magistrates’ Court on May 11 where he admitted driving on the A33 in Three Mile Cross on April 23 this year while over the alcohol limit.

Mr Edwards was fined £288; ordered to pay a surcharge of £30; and costs of £85. He was also banned from holding a licence for 24 months. A WOMAN from Woodley has been made the subject of a community order.

Gurdev Bhamra, 49, of Hanwood Close, appeared at Reading Magistrates’ Court on May 12 where she pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards a police officer in Woodley on March 19 this year.

Mrs Bhamra was ordered to carry out a supervised rehabilitation activity up to a maximum of 20 days; ordered to pay a surcharge of £85; and costs of £85. A MAN from Lower Earley has been jailed for assaulting a man on Christmas Eve.

Curtis Michael Kroczak, 27, of Kensington Close, appeared at Reading Magistrates’ Court on May 12 where he was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison for headbutting the man in Maiden Place on December 24 last year.

He was also issued with a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the victim directly or indirectly, or from attending an address in Earley, until further notice.

Mr Kroczak was also found guilty of being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog, namely a Staffordshire bull terrier, which injured the same victim in Maiden Place on December 24. Mr Kroczak was disqualified from keeping a dog for a period of 12 months.

He was also found guilty of damaging a mobile phone, belonging to the victim, for which he was ordered to pay compensation of £115. A MAN from Finchampstead is due to appear in court charged with driving offences.

Ian Lindsey Gilbert, 51, of Jerrymoor Hill, is charged with two counts of driving in Arborfield on January 3 this year while over the alcohol limit, and one count of driving while disqualified. Mr Gilbert denies the charges.

He has been remanded on unconditional bail to appear at Reading Magistrates’ Court on July 7 for the trial. A MAN and a woman from Earley are due to appear in court charged with breaching an enforcement notice.

Mark and Julie Ellison, of Huntingdon Close, are accused of failing to replant an area of land as required by an enforcement notice issued by Wokingham Borough Council on February 2, 2015.

The hearing has been adjourned until July 7 for a case management hearing at Reading Magistrates’ Court.

A MAN from Wokingham has been jailed for driving while disqualified.

Kevin John Hunt, 30, of Ashridge Road, appeared at Reading Magistrates’ Court on May 15 where he pleaded guilty to driving in Reading on May 14 this year, and in Wokingham on March 30 this year, while disqualified from holding a licence; driving without insurance; and driving whilst not wearing a seatbelt. He also pleaded guilty to obstructing a police officer.

Mr Hunt was sentenced to four months in prison, and disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of £115. A WOMAN has been jailed for stealing clothes from Marks and Spencer in Wokingham.

Leah Kate Pawl, 40, of no fixed address, appeared at Reading Magistrates’ Court on May 15 where she pleaded guilty to stealing clothes, worth £100, from Marks and Spencer in Wokingham on December 20 last year, and for stealing clothes, worth £100, from the same shop on January 23 this year.

She also pleaded guilty to failing to surrender to court on April 20 this year.

Mss Pawl was committed to prison for eight weeks; ordered to pay compensation of £67.50; and a surcharge of £115.