Parking Rage Pensioner Punches Ambassador's Chauffeur

A 'parking rage' pensioner attacked the Indonesian ambassador's chauffeur - punching him three times in the face and kicking him between the legs - when he refused to leave a suspended bay.

Malcolm Hammond, 65, shouted: "You are not allowed to park there," at driver Henky Sofjan, who had just driven ambassador Yuri Octavian Thamrin to the nearby London Central Mosque in St. John's Wood - opposite his home.

Hammond, of Park Road pleaded guilty at City of London Magistrates' Court to assaulting Mr. Sofjan on December 28, last year.

Today he was placed on a three-month supervision order, which includes an electronically-tagged night time curfew between 6pm and 6am, ordered to pay the victim £200 compensation, £85 costs and a £65 victim surcharge.

A Freedom of Information request earlier this year revealed foreign embassies owe City of Westminster council £1.4m in unpaid parking fines.

Prosecutor Miss Louise Thomas told the court: "The victim parked his Mercedes in Grove Gardens in a suspended parking bay, but felt he was allowed to park there because he says the sign was covered up.

"Mr. Hammond banged on the window of the vehicle with his keys, while telling Mr. Sofjan he was not allowed to park there and the driver got out of the vehicle.

"Mr. Hammond then lunged forward and punched Mr. Sofjan three times to the left side of his face while shouting: 'He's trying to kill me.'

"A woman who witnessed the incident shouted: 'Stop it,' and Mr. Hammond then kicked Mr. Sofjan in the groin with his foot, making contact, but causing no injury.

"The victim was left with reddening and swelling to his left cheek."

The police were called and Hammond was arrested and questioned.  

"There was reddening to his hands, which he disputed," added Miss Thomas.

Hammond's lawyer Mr. James Martin said: "He was upset that this gentleman, who was chauffeuring an ambassador in a diplomatic car, was parked across his access."

Online Paedophile Sentenced For Child Porn Stash

An online pervert, who downloaded thousands of sick sexually explicit images of children, has dodged jail with a suspended sentence.

Michael Mills, 62, of Demesne Road, Wallington was arrested and charged after police seized his Dell desktop computer.

He pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court (pictured) after he was charged with twelve offences under the Protection of Children Act.

Mills was originally charged with making 4,593 indecent images of children on or before August 7, last year.

These were made up of 3,549 at Level 1; 211 at Level 2; 405 at Level 3; 386 at Level 4 and 42 at Level 5 - the most serious and extreme examples of sexual abuse.

Mills faced an aditional five sample charges of making indecent images of children from Level 1 to 5 and four similar sample charges, reflecting Levels 1 to 4.

He was also charged with making 14 indecent movies of children, namely one at Level 2; four at Level 3 and nine at Level 4.

Mills was charged with one count of distributing an indecent Level 4 movie of a child to another. 

Paedophile Pensioner Locked-Up

A paedophile, originally charged with sex attacks on two teenage girls spanning nearly forty years, has been locked up for four years and two months.

Robin Rogers, 68, of Tredown Road, Sydenham was accused of performing oral sex on the second girl and tying her to a chair and fondling her breasts as well as pleasuring himself in front of her.

He pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court (pictured).

Rogers was charged with five counts of indecent assault by digital penetration on the first girl when she was aged under fourteen years-old on dates between December 12, 1965 and December 11, 1967.

He was also charged with three counts of indecent assault against the second girl when she was aged under fourteen and sixteen years-old between August 15, 2001 and April 30, 2004.

Rogers was also charged with gross indeceny against the girl on two occassions between August 15, 2001 and April 30, 2004.

He was further charged with inciting the girl to engage in sexual activity between May 1 and August 14, 2004 and assaulting her between the same dates. 

Part-Time DJ Caged For Online Grooming And Abusing Of Teen Girls

An online “predatory” paedophile who groomed teenage girls on social networking sites – abusing one 14 year-old at her home and a 15 year-old via a webcam – has been caged for nine years.

Part-time DJ Benjamin Spratt, 28, of Evelyn Place, Chelmsford, Essex chatted to the victims on teen website MYLOL – impressing them with his experiences in the music entertainment industry.

He pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and engaging in sexual activity himself, via a web-cam, on October 27, 2011.

He also admitted meeting the girl after online grooming on October 28, with intent to have sexual intercourse, and two charges of engaging in sexual activity with her.

Spratt also pleaded guilty to inciting a second girl to engage in sexual activity via a web-cam on October 24, 2011 and two counts of attempting to meet her after sexual grooming.

The licensed taxi driver travelled to the 14 year-old victim's home to sexually abuse her.

He then turned up at her school three days later and she told her teachers that he was outside.

The school called police, but he had left before they arrived.

Spratt was arrested and questioned by officers from Operation Sapphire, which investigates sexual offences.

On further examination of his computer, officers discovered he had been in contact with numerous young girls.

Officers tracked down a 15-year-old girl who told them that Spratt convinced her to engage in sexual activity online while he performed a sex act on himself.

Spratt was also placed on the sex offenders register for life and given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for five years.

He was also banned from using the internet to talk with children, communicate with any female under 16 without supervision and to allow the police to examine any device with either internet or digital image storage.

Detective Constable John Daly, of Sapphire Command, said: "Benjamin Spratt is a predatory paedophile who has targeted a vulnerable young girl to satisfy his own sexual needs.

"The Metropolitan Police Service is dedicated to protecting the public from sexual predators and encouraging victims to come forward. They will be fully supported by specially trained officers."

Detective Inspector Keith Ward, of Sapphire Command, said: "The victim was targeted, groomed and exploited by Spratt.

"This crime again shows how the internet and social media can be used by paedophiles to snare their victims.

“This conviction will provide reassurance that we will relentlessly pursue those who commit these dreadful crimes against children."

New Child Sex Charges Against Disgraced Ex-Labour Councillor Dropped

A disgraced ex-Labour councillor - jailed for online grooming - has had fresh charges of possessing child pornography dropped.

John Joseph Friary, 53, who returned to his native Scotland following his release from prison found himself arrested again by police from the South London borough, where he served on the council.

Friary, of West Pilton Green, Edinburgh appeared at Camberwell Green Magistrates Court and was on bail awaiting committal to Woolwich Crown Court when the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case.

In November, 2011 the former councillor for Brunswick Ward and a cabinet member for community safety with the London Borough of Southwark was jailed for fifteen months for attempting to meet a 15 year-old girl after sexual grooming.

In reality the 'girl' was a Hertfordshire blackmailer trying to extort money from peadophiles.

After his release Friary was charged with making twenty level one indecent photographs of a child between June 11 and November 21, 2010 at his former address in Camberwell New Road, Camberwell, plus a second charge of making seven level three photographs.

The prosecution claimed incriminating evidence was found by police after they seized Friary's laptop and found sexual conversation between the defendant and underage boys and girls.

Student Burglar Failed Fingerprint Test

L - Lewis-Hill & R - Vista Finance

A Walsall student, who left his fingerprints on glass he smashed during an office burglary, has escaped prison with a suspended sentence after police tracked him down.

Tyrel Lewis-Hill, 21, of Sandwell House, Sandwell Street, Coldmore snatched a £1,000 Apple laptop computer, which has never been found.

He pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to burgling Vista Finance, 15-17 Church Road, Crystal Palace on August 23, last year.

The court heard maths student Lewis-Hill, who has previous convictions for possessing drugs and theft from a dwelling was arrested on December 15.

“He has never served a custodial sentence, but he is getting very, very near it,” announced the Recorder of Croydon Warwick McKinnon.

“This is quite a serious burglary, quite a valuable computer was taken and never recovered.

“Put this behind you,” the judge told Lewis-Hill. “You draw a line under it and get on with your studies and lead an industrious law-abiding life.

“One slip and you will be inside a custodial institution doing time.”

Lewis-Hill was sentenced to two months imprisonment, suspended for twelve months, and ordered to comply with an electronically monitored night time curfew from 9pm to 6am.

Texan Cocaine Courier's 'Millionaire' Lies Exposed

A Texan cocaine smuggler, caught with £100,000 worth of the drug at Gatwick Airport, will have an extra nine months slashed from her sentence and be given £1,500 and a free flight home because she is an American citizen.

Andrea Dee Crossen, 46, told the UK Border Agency (UKBA) she was in London to receive a £25m gift from her millionaire husband, but her "fantastical account" was exposed as an elaborate lie concocted to try and convince officers she was not a cocaine courier.

The ex-hospital worker was sentenced to four-and-a-half years imprisonment, but will be flying home next summer under a UKBA initiative for non-EU citizens who receive over three years.

There is no reciprocal arrangement for United Kingdom citizens imprisoned in the United States.

"Being a US national she will be offered the early release scheme," prosecutor Miss Barbara Down told Croydon Crown Court. "Nine months will be taken off her sentence, she will have a paid flight home and be given fifteen hundred pounds so that when she gets home it helps her to settle down."

The nine months will be an additional discount to the 50%, which is automatically deducted from all prison sentences.

Single-mum Crossen, of Waterside Court, Addison, Dallas pleaded guilty to importing two kilos of 19% pure cocaine from Trinidad on December 30, last year.

The court heard she has an addiction to powerful prescription painkillers and receives £900 per month in disability income.

"She was intercepted in the immigration area after stepping off a British Airways flight and during a search of her baggage a quantity of white powder was found in the lining of her rucksack," explained Miss Down. "It tested positive for cocaine.

"During a lengthy interview she said she had come to met her husband and had no idea there were any drugs in the bag.

"She said her husband was a multi-millionaire who owned gold mines and she had come to the UK to sign bank papers for a twenty-five million dollar cheque, which her husband had given to her as a present, and she did not need to smuggle drugs."

Crossen suggested the cocaine must have been planted by either her bodyguard or personal assistant in Trinidad, who had been hired by her husband to take care of her during a short vacation to the Caribbean island.

"It is a fantastical account that she gives," said Miss Down, explaining CCTV footage showed Crossen's final destination, a Birmingham hotel room, had been paid for in cash by a mystery black male.

"She said she married in Dallas three years ago and had not seen her husband, who was living in a Malaysian hotel, for over a year, but they planned to meet in Birmingham and he had also bought her a London house."

However, she could not recall her husband's date of birth and estimated his age at thirty-seven years old.

"The entire account is fanciful, there is no husband," said Miss Down of the first-time offender. "She also had an exceptionally large quantity of painkillers that she said she had taken for many years and said were prescribed to her."

Crossen's lawyer Miss Mariska Van Leeuwen told the court: "She was certainly vulnerable and gullible and cannot easily distinguish between fantasy and reality. She does live in a fantasy land."

Her son had flown in from the USA and visited her in prison four days before she was sentenced.

"She is very vulnerable and she just seemed to have gone along with this and not given it much thought.

"She is registered disabled since an accident at work ten years ago and has become addicted to painkillers and is in long-term pain."

Judge Jeremy Gold QC told Crossen: "I am prepared to accept you are a vulnerable woman and you put forward a completely eccentric account of your life in interview."

UKIP Leader's City-Boy Son Fights Drunk And Disorderly Charge

The trainee City broker son of UKIP leader Nigel Farage has been arrested and charged with being drunk and disorderly in the square mile.

Thomas Harry Farage, 21, of Wall Close, Hoo, Rochester, Kent did not appear for his first hearing at City of London Magistrates' Court (pictured)

last Friday and hopes the charge can be settled without having to make an appearance.

He is employed by Bishopgate-based Marex Spectron and is charged with being drunk and disorderly in nearby St. Martin's Le Grande on April 12, contrary to the Criminal Justice Act 1967.

Farage was arrested at 3am.

His solicitors, Mayfair-based RMPI, are continuing to make representations to the Crown Prosecution Service to deal with the case outside of a court hearing, based on medical evidence.

His unconditional bail was enlarged until May 10 to give the CPS time to consider the medical evidence.

"There are discussions between the parties as to a more appropriate outcome," prosecutor Miss Catherine Baccas told the magistrates.

Secret Camera Perv Recorded Female Flatmate For Sex Thrills

A perverted voyeur has pleaded guilty to secretly recording a female housemate he once shared a property with.

First-time offender Jason Shotton, 23, of Hall Hill Road, Holbeach, Spalding, Lincolnshire was exposed when a friend of the victim went through his belongings and found the images.

He pleaded guilty to voyeurism, for the purpose of sexual gratification, on or about September 1, 2011 at 6 Underwood, New Addington, Croydon.

Croydon Magistrates' Court heard the victim is distressed by the offence and Shotton's friendship with his ex-housemates has completely broken down.

The defendant (pictured) emphasises that he did not circulate the images and was only caught when the woman was shown his recordings by a friend.

Shotton was bailed until May 14 for a pre sentence report and was told by District Judge Sue Green: “It is too serious to deal with without the assistance of probation.

“All options are open, including committal to the crown court for sentence, and no promises are being made.”

Fish 'N Chip Shop Boss Netted Thousands From The Till

A fish and chip shop manager, who stole £141,000 from the successful business to clear his troubled son's drug debt, has been jailed for fourteen months.

Gary Chapman, 52, of Fairway Avenue, West Drayton helped found the business with his friend of thirty years and was trusted to record the income and bank the takings.

He pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court to stealing the sum from 'Jack's' in Hillingdon Road, Uxbridge (pictured) between June, 2010 and July, last year.

As a 20% shareholder in the company Chapman's actual benefit was calculated as £116,000 and his matrimonial home has been made subject to a court-ordered restraint as confiscation is pursued.

The first-time offender, who opened the shop in 1999 with business pal David King, was so successful the £250,000 start-up loan was repaid in five years.

“The guilty plea is a genuine indication of his remourse and shame,” said Mr. Alastair Smith, defending. “The burden has weighed heavily on him.

“When the police showed up at his premises he did not seem agitated, as if he accepted the day was coming, and he kept meticulous details of the money he had taken.

“He was aware that what he was doing was wrong and was concerned about that fact.

“He did suffer from a constant moral nagging and had a vain hope that one day he would be able to put things right.”

The father-of-two, who also has two step-sons, is now divorcing his wife and his half of the matrimonial home has been valued at £51,000 for compensation purposes.

He immediately signed-over his 20% stake in the business when Mr. King discovered the thefts, which has been valued at £24,000, but Chapman claims his share is worth nearer £100,000.

“He has always worked in fish and chip shops and up until now has never stolen a single penny,” added Mr. Smith.

“Mr. Chapman dismissed his son just before these offences and his son disappeared from the local area.

“A group of drug users then approached him and said his son's thirty-eight thousand pound debt, plus interest, has transferred to him as far as they were concerned.

“They made it clear paying-off the debt was linked to the long-term welfare of the defendant and his son and he agreed to pay five thousand pounds a week.

“His first mistake was not to go to the police and his second was to take a twenty thousand pound loan from a loan shark and in this context the defendant started taking money.

“He noted it all down and hoped one day he would be able to pay it all back.

“He stole from the company in which he had dedicated over a decade of his life and now he has lost his good name and the assets he has built up.

“He has lost his marriage, his mental equilibrium and risks losing his liberty and has gained nothing for himself.”

Judge Paul Dugdale told Chapman: “You did it to benefit your son who had got himself into a lot of difficulties.

“The trouble I have is that this was an awful lot of money and a high breach of trust.

“This is a very serious offence of dishonesty that has to be met by a custodial sentence.

“You took cash out of that business and you kept in the safe at work a full record of all the money you had taken.

'In my view that shows a degree of understanding that the money was not yours and had to go back.

“I can reduce the sentence because of the unusual circumstances of you taking the money not for your benefit, but the benefit of your son and you kept a record of every penny.”

Chapman must also pay a £100 victim surcharge.

French Teacher Cleared Of All Schoolboy Sex Charges

A french language schoolteacher, accused of touching and slapping a 14 year-old pupil's bottom, while calling the boy "sexy" and "honey" during Facebook chats has been cleared of sex activity charges.

A Croydon Crown Court jury found teacher Arnaud Barge, 38, not guilty on all counts after hearing evidence from the schoolboy.

Barge answered "no comment" during his first police interview on December 12, 2011, but when questioned a second time on March 23, last year claimed his attention was motivated by the boy being a "underachiever" and a "target student."

It was alleged he repeatedly spanked the teen in a "jokey fashion" in front of classmates and would tuck the boy's school shirt into the front of his trousers.

"He said Mr. Barge made sexually suggestive comments towards him and paid him more attention than others in the class," prosecutor Mr. James Dawes told the court.

"He said for the last couple of years he would touch him on the bottom in a jokey fashion and this touching and these comments made the boy very uncomfortable."

Barge, of St. Paul Street, Islington was acquitted of three counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust between June 19, 2009 and December 2, 2011.

The court heard Barge was a respected teacher at the Orpington secondary school, but was suspended in December, 2011 after the pupil, born in 1996, reported him to another member of staff.

The boy shared Facebook messages Barge sent him during the 2010 summer holiday which read: "Oh darling. I'm loving our little game," and "Night, night. Kiss, kiss."

Other messages included: "How's my favourite little poker?" and "I know you're not that bad sexy."

Mr. Dawes explained: "The staff were alarmed by such messages between a boy of that age and a teacher in his late thirties."

Barge was questioned by the head teacher. "He said he may have touched him, but did not intend the boy to feel uncomfortable and said he had not spanked his bottom."

One of the boy's classmates was also spoken to. "He said Mr. Barge would stand a little closer to the boy and sometimes pull up his trousers and tuck his shirt in, putting his hand down the front of his trousers, not too far, but enough to tuck his shirt in.

"The same classmate said Mr. Barge once approached a group of boy's and asked if they were talking about the complainant's balls," explained Mr. Dawes.

"He also slapped the complainant's bottom ten to fifteen times as if it was a joke to the class."

"He denied that he slapped the boy's bottom in class or tucked in his shirt, but accepted the Facebook comments were a mistake and said he should have used a more formal way to contact a pupil," said Mr. Dawes.

"He said he meant nothing sexual, but it was just the way he is and described himself as a lively person."

Eight-Times Banned Driver Caged For Hit-And-Run Death Crash

An uninsured banned driver - serving his eighth disqualification - was "driving like an idiot" when he crashed into an oncoming car while speeding on the wrong side of the road - killing the lone female occupant.

Steven Palmer, 28, (pic.bottom) who has an "appalling" driving record lost control on a bend while exceeding 60-66 mph in a 50mph zone and crashed into a black Audi TT driven by 38 year-old Louise Clark.

"You left that scene immediately after," Judge John Dennis told Palmer yesterday at Isleworth Crown Court, jailing him for five-and-half years. "There was no attempt to go to Miss Clark with succour or call the emergency services and your driving record is appalling"

Palmer has a previous dangerous driving conviction when his vehicle crashed through the front of a house and ended up in an OAP lady's living-room during a police chase, plus convictions for aggravated vehicle taking; drink driving and driving while disqualified and without a licence and insurance.

"This case concerns the tragic and unnecessary death of Louise Clark, a young woman of thirty-eight," Judge Denniss told Palmer. "You have heard about the devastating effect your driving had on that family.

"She was a gregarious young woman……deeply loved by those that knew her."

Palmer had borrowed a pal's blue Honda Civic hire car and was seen tailgating another vehicle and overtaking it at speed moments before he crashed into Miss Clark (pic.top) at 6.30pm in Harvil Road, Uxbridge on December 30, last year.

The collision left her trapped inside her vehicle with shattered legs and multiple injuries, including a serious brain injury, and she was cut from the wreckage by the fire brigade and rushed by air ambulance to St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington, but her life support machine was switched off on January 8 after suffering numerous strokes.

Prosecutor Mr. Paul Cavin said witness James Baker was following the speeding Palmer along the unlit semi-rural road, which has several dips and humps, and told police: "It overtook as it crested one of the humps and was either all or almost all on the wrong side of the road.

"It continued driving fast and continued out of sight. I thought he was driving like an idiot."

Moments later he arrived at the crash scene, but Palmer had fled and after initially refusing to surrender to police, who had his DNA from blood on the driver-side door, have gave himself up the day Miss Clark died.

"He must have been travelling well in excess of the speed limit, despite warning signs, plus a warning side of a double bend and 'slow' written on the tarmac," explained Mr. Cavin.

Globe-trotter Miss Clark, of Ickenham, had visited 50 countries, worked at a Harefield bar and had two younger brothers.

In a victim impact statement read to the packed courtroom, full of relatives for the victim and the defendant, her mother Beryl said: "Losing a daughter in such a callous and devastating way has taken away her life and our lives.

"Louise was a very family-orientated daughter, who loved life and loved her family…..Everyday is unbearable, but you carry on. You have to.

"We will never see her married or see her children or the grandchildren she would have given us.

"I saw Harvil Road blocked off by the police and as soon as we saw the police at our front door we knew something tragic had happened."

Beryl described the "nine agonising days" her daughter clung to life. "Every day the doctors gave us a glimmer of hope and then took it away.

"A future without her scares me. We are left with a deep ache of emptiness without her…that will for ever break our hearts."

Palmer's lawyer Mr. Selwyn Shapiro said: "The defendant didn't intend to cause death or serious injury. This was a catastrophic misjudgment case."

Judge Denniss told Palmer: "Mercifully she was unconscious and was so immediately after the collision. The impact was avoidable and was caused by your dangerous driving.

"You have never had a driving licence and have committed offences after offences of driving dangerously or disqualified and have been sent to prison for it."

He also disqualified Palmer for six years and ordered him to pass an extended driving test before he is ever granted a licence.

Palmer pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing death while disqualified and uninsured.

The maximum sentence is fourteen years imprisonment.

Afterwards, Louise's family released this statement: “Louise was a loving daughter, a sister who was a joy to be with, a caring aunt, a supportive grand-daughter and cousin who was a very best friend.

“Her death is an unimaginable torment and a raw pain every morning when we wake and every night when we try to sleep.

“We would like to praise the police for their unstinting support to us during this time.

“They have been all you could wish for – in particular Bruce Wilson and Stephen Pidgeon of the Northolt Collision Investigation Unit.

“We struggle to come to terms with why Louise should have been deprived of her life and future while Steven Palmer has his.

“We cannot understand the justice of our family suffering the death of Louise when Steven Palmer is still alive and his family still have him.

“What we and her many, many friends are enduring is made worse by how she died needlessly at the hands of Steven Palmer, who despite his protestations of remorse, is and will remain a danger to the public by his driving.

“He has an appalling record and far from learning from his court appearances and imprisonment, has progressed to what was almost inevitable – killing an innocent young woman.

“His present protestations of remorse are the result of being caught and an attempt to receive a lesser sentence.

“A man with an ounce of compassion for his actions would not have fled the crash to save his skin, leaving Louise barely alive in her wrecked car.

“A man with a conscience would not seek to hide from the police for nine days while Louise was fighting for her life in hospital with her grieving family at her bedside.

“A man taking responsibility for his actions would not wait to surrender to the police only when he knew arrest was imminent.

“A man with any sense of contrition would not say “no comment” during interviews about her death.

“For the better running of the courts, the law requires Steven Palmer be given a lesser sentence for pleading guilty and saving court time.

“His plea of guilty should be seen in this light and not as evidence of genuine remorse for his actions. He would have been convicted on the evidence.

“We stand here today in grief but who will be standing here the next time Steven Palmer gets behind the wheel of a car and causes another death or injury.

“Will it be yet another family mourning the death of their innocent relative or will it be Steven Palmer’s own family lamenting his death.

“The answer lies in Steven Palmer’s hands, but on his record, the prospects are bleak.”

Detective Sergeant Stephen Pidgeon from the Northolt Collision Investigation Unit said: “Steven Palmer has received a significant sentence today for killing Louise Clark.

“Whilst the Judge has acknowledged his guilty plea this has at least saved Louise’s family and friends the further suffering that the wait for a trial would bring and was no doubt provoked by the strength of the case against him.

“It cannot be ignored that on the 30 December 2012 having caused Louise injuries that would eventually result in her death Palmer left her at the roadside and only surrendered to police as the result of media appeals, arrests of his associates and a number of warrants executed at addresses linked to him.

“It was clear to him that he had no other realistic options but to give himself up.

“I would like to thank Louise’s parents for the trust and support they have shown in my team and whilst I accept that the sentence today can in no way be considered justice for Louise and her family it does send out a warning to others who drive on the road with a complete disregard for the law and the safety of other road users.”

Benefit Cheat Kept £197K Divorce Pay-Out A Secret

A benefit fraudster - granted payments because of her alcoholism - continued pocketing thousands in handouts while keeping her £197,000 divorce settlement a secret.

Kim Sargent, 47, swindled over £50,000, but avoided prison this week after a senior judge declared: "Sentencing policy does not require a court to crush a defendant."

Prosecutor Mr. Silas Reid told Croydon Crown Court: "She legitimately claimed benefits, including income support, because of her inability to work due to alcoholism."

However, Sargent kept her 2007 divorce settlement a secret and for over three years continued claiming benefits despite her bulging bank account.

Sargent, of Penge High Street, Penge pleaded guilty to failing to disclose information regarding her excess capital in relation to claims for income support and housing and council tax benefit between February 19, 2007 and October 18, 2010. 

She also pleaded guilty to fraud by falsely representing she had no capital on November 1 and 14, 2007 in relation to claims for income support and housing and council tax benefit.

A total of £53,281 was overpaid, with the bulk just over £32,000 in housing benefit and the prosecution are pursuing confiscation.

"When questioned she denied the offences and said her mother dealt with all the affairs," added Mr. Reid. "The money is now long gone in relation to the divorce settlement."

The Recorder of Croydon Warwick McKinnon told Sargent: "It is an awful lot of money you obtained that you were not entitled to because you failed to disclose your substantial divorce settlement.

"If you had disclosed it you would not have been entitled to any of the money at all."

Regarding her alcoholism he told Sargent: "That has been a problem for a number of years now."

She was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for twelve months.

OAP Had Loaded Antique Double-Barrelled Pistol In Garden Shed

A pensioner, who kept a loaded 135 year-old double-barrelled pistol in his garden shed, dodged the tough new minimum sentencing rules and escaped prison with a suspended sentence. 

Retired John Bertrum Barnes, 80, (pictured) of Sunningdale Road, Sutton was facing a five-year minimum after the police raid on his suburban home and found the WW1 “trophy”.

He pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to possessing a firearm, without a certificate, namely a 9mm Belgian Flobert Calibre Rimfire tuckaway shot pistol on June 2, last year.

A family dispute brought officers to the defendant's home and after learning of the gun a specialist sniffer-dog found the location of the firearm, which Barnes had refused to divulge.

His lawyer told the court: “The most significant thing for Mr. Barnes is the loss of his good character.

“The fact of his arrest and coming to court and losing his good character has been an enormous event in his life, a matter of extreme significance.

“So many people come to court and don't give a fig about their character, but you will see the effect of his arrest and coming to court has had on his marriage.

“It has been a rollercoaster and traumatic between Mr. and Mrs. Barnes. She is here today and is understandably anxious.

“Happily the question of divorce has passed, but it demonstrates the extraordinary turbulence that has effected Mr. Barnes and his family.”

Judge Stephen Waller, who must sentence such offenders to a minimum of five years imprisonment, except in “exceptional circumstances” told Barnes: “You were found in possession of a firearm and thirty-six rounds of ammunition.

“You did not tell the police where the gun was and police made a search with a firearms dog and it was in an outhouse at the bottom of your garden and loaded with two cartridges.”

The gun is not recognised as a powerful firearm and is best suited to vermin control.

“You told police it was a world war one trophy handed down by your grandfather.

“You also told the police you bought ammunition for it in Frances five years ago to test it and shot at a jam jar.

“You are an intelligent man and you should not have bought ammunition for it and having successfully test-fired it you should not have kept the ammunition.

“You should have sought legal advice. Firearm legislation in the UK is very strict for good reason.”

Barnes was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for twelve months, and ordered to pay £550 costs.

The gun and ammunition were forfeited