'Persistent' Hereford offender Joshua Newbury jailed

Joshua Newbury entered a guilty plea to one count of breaching a criminal behaviour order when he appeared before magistrates in Kidderminster in August.

The court heard from prosecutor Miss Adams that the 31-year-old had been handed a criminal behaviour order by magistrates on April 20, 2022.

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The three-year order bans him from acting in a manner likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress in a public place, from remaining on private or other property when asked to leave, and from being in possession of an open alcohol container in Hereford city centre.

Police at the time said Newbury had been a "persistent problem across the city for a number of years" and that his behaviour was normally caused by illegal drug use and excessive alcohol consumption.

But, magistrates heard, Newbury had broken that order, behaving in an abusive and threatening manner in Hereford on August 2.

Magistrates said that the offence was so serious that only a custodial sentence could be justified due to Newbury's record for this type of offence, as he had offended just one day after being released from prison, as he was under the influence of alcohol, and as the victims were public service workers.

Newbury, who is of no fixed address, was jailed for 16 weeks.