Oldest Asbo jailed
The oldest person in the Newark area to be given an anti-social behaviour order is now behind bars after breaching one of its conditions within hours of it being imposed.
Wilf Baker, 62, of Queen's Road, Newark, was jailed for eight weeks by a district judge when he appeared at Newark Magistrates' Court on Monday.
He pleaded guilty to two breaches of his Asbo and a separate charge of criminal damage.
Miss Kate Beardmore, prosecuting, told the court that both breaches involved associating with Paul Bryan, a man the Asbo conditions said he was not to associate with.
The first was on December 13 - the day it was issued - and the second on Friday.
According to Baker's Asbo he is prohibited from associating with Bryan either directly or indirectly.
After the second breach Baker was later arrested for writing an obscene message on the chalk boards outside the Queen's Head pub in the Market Place.
Baker was also issued with a restraining order preventing him from going within five metres of the Queen's Head, or contacting landlady Marie Glover, either directly or indirectly for two years.
Baker had previously been fined for flashing his naked bottom at Marie Glover while being in the Market Place in nothing but a dressing gown.
Mr Simon Cobb, defending, said he hoped District Judge Diane Baker would take in to account that Baker could not help but see Bryan because he had a key to Baker's home, and frequently stayed there.
He added that the court should seek to allow Baker to be admitted to an alcohol rehabilitation programme and be spared custody.
District Judge Baker discounted the alcohol rehabilitation course following a pre-sentence report and said she had no alternative other than to send Baker to prison.
She said: "Your act of criminal damage is a very serious offence and you have caused a lot of distress to owner of the pub with this repeated harassment.
"Also I would hope that putting you in custody may well help to get you motivated to improve your alcohol problem. "We will not give up on you yet, Mr Baker, you are not a lost cause."
Speaking afterwards, Inspector Mark Burrell, of Newark Police, said: "This sentence proves that anti-social behaviour orders are to be taken seriously and ignoring their conditions can have serious consequences.
"Wilf Baker showed flagrant disregard for those conditions very early in the imposition of the order and this is the result.
"My hope now is that upon his release, he will recognise the necessity of abiding by those conditions. After all, it has two years to run."
