A UNIVERSITY rugby league player has been ordered to pay compensation to a team mate after he broke his cheekbone during a drunken after match celebration.Sam Ash was angry with friend Stefan Kadach because he wanted to go home early from the party at an Exeter pub and hit him with a single punch to his face.Second year student Mr Kadach needed an operation to repair the cheek bone and suffered weeks of pain as well as losing the summer holiday job which he had lined up.Ash and the victim were...
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Uni rugby player broke friend's cheekbone because he wanted to...
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Robber attacked 77-year-old man in his home
A MAN has admitted robbing a vulnerable pensioner in his own home and stealing cash and a satchel.Luke Stocker admitted robbery when he appeared at Exeter Crown Court via video link from Exeter Prison, where he is remanded in custody.Stocker, 24, of Drake Road, Newton Abbot, admitted robbing 77-year-old Brian Newton at his home in Newton Abbot on October 25 of a wallet, satchel and cash.Judge Francis Gilbert, QC, adjourned the case for four weeks for a probation pre-sentence report.William...
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Arrest warrant for woman who made off without paying for fuel in...
AN arrest warrant has been made for a woman who failed to show up to court in Barnstaple this morning to face sentencing for taking off without paying for fuel.Nikki Marie Millings, 28, of Moyses Meadow, Okehampton, was due to be sentenced at North Devon Magistrates' Court today (November 20) but failed to turn up.She had previously pleaded guilty to making off without paying for £54.52 of fuel in Exeter on May 2, and £43.39 of fuel in Bideford on May 11.Presiding magistrate Paul...
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Barnstaple theft accused sought by police after court no-show
A WOMAN accused of two thefts failed to show up for court this morning and a warrant was made for her arrest.Bridie Hopkins, 38, of Rackfield Court, Rackfield, Barnstaple, was due to face two charges of theft at North Devon Magistrates' Court.The charges included two alleged identical thefts on successive days, wherein she was alleged to have stolen Armani gift sets worth £89.96 from Boots in Barnstaple High Street on November 1 and 2 this year.Presiding magistrate Paul Cooper made a...
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Dangerous paedophile jailed for woodshed assault on vulnerable...
A DANGEROUS paedophile has been jailed after he abused a vulnerable teenage boy on a voluntary conservation project.Graham Staples lied about his previous convictions to get a job with the forestry scheme at Seale Hayne, Newton Abbot, and used his position to groom a 17-year-old boy with learning difficulties.The teenager was so embarrassed after being sexually assaulted in a woodshed he threatened to take his own life and was detained in a mental hospital for a short time.Staples, 55, moved to...
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Fever nightclub dancefloor attackers who left soldier in hospital...
A PAIR of nightclub customers have been ordered to pay compensation to a soldier who spent five days in hospital after a dancefloor attack.Liam Patrick and Jamieson Broad were caught on CCTV at Barnstaple as they punched victim Adam Groombridge so hard they broke his nose.The soldier was off sick for seven weeks and a deep cut has left a permanent scar under one eye, Exeter Crown Court was told.Patrick started the violence when he went up to Mr Groombridge, who was talking to a girl at the edge...
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'Paranoid schizophrenic' shown leniency for shoplifting perfume...
A SHOPLIFTER was shown leniency after magistrates were told of her mental illness and her partner's sickness.Kathleen Towns appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday, November 20, and pleaded guilty to stealing perfume worth £55.79 from Boots in Barnstaple on November 5.This put her in breach of a conditional discharge for handling stolen goods, which she received in August 2015. However, despite this, presiding magistrate Paul Cooper said he would take the unusual step of...
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Paul Ince on drink-driving charge
PAUL INCE has pleaded not guilty to drink-driving.Ince, 50, of Kala Fair, Westward Ho!, will face trial on February 8, 2016, accused of driving a Ford Focus saloon in Bradworthy Cross, Bradworthy on October 2, 2015 while over the limit.He appeared at north Devon magistrates' Court on Friday, November 20, 2015, and pleaded not guilty to one charge of drink-driving.It is alleged he blew a reading of 79 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35. He was granted...
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Alcoholic shoplifter jailed for series of thefts on Morrisons...
AN habitual shoplifter has been jailed for a series of thefts committed while subject to a suspended sentence.Kevin Nixon, 30, appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court from custody on Friday, November 20, and pleaded guilty to two thefts and asked magistrates to take six other matters into consideration. He sat in the dock in handcuffs as Lyndsey Baker, for the prosecution, told magistrates his crimes included thefts of meat and alcohol from Morrisons and Co-op in Bideford.Nixon was sentenced...
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Teen drove 60 miles to Barnstaple without licence or insurance...
A TEENAGER drove 60 miles from Saltash to Barnstaple after a row with his girlfriend despite not having a licence or car insurance.Dylan Caldwell, 19, who lives in a sheltered housing project in Bideford, appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday, November 20, and pleaded guilty to driving without a licence or insurance on December 16.He had already been disqualified for six months in October for speeding and failing to give the identity of a driver when required to do so by police....
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Rise in attacks against North Devon medical staff
THE number of reported attacks carried out against medical staff in North Devon has risen sharply, new figures reveal.Between 2014 and 2015, the total number of physical assaults recorded against staff at Northern Devon Healthcare Trust rose from 133 to 171 – a 33% increase.At the same time, South West Ambulance Service saw 130 attacks take place against its paramedics.The increase is believed to in part be due to the previous under-reporting of attacks by staff in North Devon, a spokesman...
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Drunken Bristol delivery driver drove into woman parked outside...
A BRISTOL delivery driver drove into the back of a parked car in Landkey and injured the occupant, while more than twice the legal drink-drive limit.Kai Scriven, 33, of The Coots, Bristol, pleaded guilty to drink-driving and driving without due care and attention when he appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday, November 20.Lyndsey Baker, for the prosecution, said Scriven was delivering medical supplies when he drove his Nissan van into the back of a Peugeot parked outside Lyncroft...
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GUILTY - Tanis Bhandari murder accused changes plea at beginning...
AS one of the biggest murder trials to grip Devon this decade gets underway, one of the two men charged over the death of Tanis Bhandari has sensationally changed his plea and admitted his guilt.Ryan Williams, 22, of Haydon Grove, St Budeaux, has pleaded guilty to murder the 27-year-old builder in the village of Tamerton Foliot on New Year's Day. Don Pemberton, 21, of Victoria Road, St Budeaux, denies all charges.Following legal discussion this morning the jury in the murder trial reconvened at...
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Barnstaple man accused of sexually assaulting schoolgirl fails to...
THE trial of a North Devon man accused of sexually assaulting a schoolgirl has been adjourned after he failed to turn up for the hearing.Michael Sherwood, 55, from Barnstaple, was due to stand trial at Exeter Crown Court but the case was adjourned and will be relisted.Sherwood, who was bailed to live in Dorset, is accused of sexual assault on a 15-year-old girl, sexual activity with a child and grooming.
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FALSE RAPE CLAIM - Torrington woman branded selfish and cowardly...
A WOMAN who invented a false rape claim against a wholly innocent businessman has been branded as selfish and cowardly by a Judge.Sophie Tucker invited her fiancé's 50-year-old boss to her home and took part in a sex act with him and tried to lie her way out of trouble when her partner spotted him leaving the house.She claimed he had grabbed her pony tail and forced her to have oral sex against her will. She repeated the lie at hospital and to the police in a 51-minute video taped...
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Fare-dodging and knife charges for South Molton man
A SOUTH MOLTON man has been accused of making off without payment from a taxi, using threatening behaviour and being in possession of knives in public.Austin Hines, 36, of Oakwood Court, appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday, November 20, and entered no plea to the three charges against him.It is alleged that Hines made off from a taxi operated by South Molton Taxis, without paying a £25.10 fare, on October 30.He is accused of possessing two kitchen knives in a public place,...
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South Molton man accused of stalking woman over three month...
A SOUTH MOLTON man has been accused of stalking a woman over three months by continually contacting her and going to places where he knew she would be.Kim Rumsam, 52, of Maclins Close, appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday, November 20, having pleaded not guilty at an earlier date to a charge of stalking.It is alleged that he stalked a woman between August 21 and November 13.He is alleged to have pursuer a course of conduct which amounted to the stalking of the woman and which he...
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'Psychologically addicted' amphetamine user arrested after...
A MAN "psychologically addicted" to amphetamines since the age of 16 was arrested for possession after being involved in a commotion – directly opposite North Devon's biggest police station.Lewis Bullen, 28, of Pulchrass Street, pleaded guilty to amphetamine possession when he appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court yesterday (Friday, November 27).Lyndsey Baker, for the prosecution, said it was 2.20pm on Sunday, November 8 when officers at Barnstaple Police Station heard a...
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Cider-fuelled company director crashed into Ilfracombe wall...
A COMPANY director said he felt "disgusted and ashamed" that he drove and crashed after five pints of cider, as he often lectured friends about drink-driving.Christopher Ayers, 26, of The Old Rectory, Berrynarbor, crashed his black Volkswagen Golf into a stone wall in Watermouth Road, Ilfracombe, at around 11.15pm on November 13.Ayers, who described himself as "a keen surfer" who represents Barnstaple in cricket and pool, had been seen to run off, but returned after police...
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Harassment accusation denied by Ilfracombe man
A CHARGE of harassment has been denied by an Ilfracombe man.Jason Hooper, of Queens Avenue, appeared at North Devon Magistrates' Court on Friday, November 27.The 33-year-old is accused of harassing a woman by going to her home and work address on numerous occasions and contacting her by mobile and landline.The offences are alleged to have happened between August 31, 2015 and September 20, 2015, in Barnstaple. Hooper will next appear at the court for trial on January 26.He was bailed on the...
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