GARDEN GANGSTER

Graham Ellison claimed his possessions were being stolen after council workers and bailiffs moved into his home in Alvaston, Derby. Mr Ellison is liable to pay £15,000 in fines for not cleaning up his property after the city council took him to court following eight years of complaints by neighbours. Speaking to the BBC he said, "How would anybody feel if the contents of their garden which they have collected or salvaged over a number of years were literally being stolen? I have made a number of offers about reducing the impact and none of that was acceptable to them. For the past two years we have been arguing about this and they have refused to accept anything other than a total clearance of my garden. There was no justification whatsoever for totally cleaning my garden if they were not prepared to discuss a lesser job."

Mr Ellison was arrested for ignoring a court order to tidy his garden - and jailed for four months. On January 2, at Derby Crown Court, Mr Ellison was found guilty of contempt of court in his absence for ignoring an injunction ordering him to clear up his garden at his Alvaston home. Judge James Orrell ordered he should serve four months in prison and issued a warrant for his arrest. The injunction was obtained after he ignored a council enforcement notice ordering him to clear the rubbish and was convicted by Derby magistrates for failing to comply. He lost an appeal against the conviction and failed in attempts to overturn the injunction. Mr Ellison said in court, "My arrest was unlawful because of the breach of my right to a fair trial."

Councillor Sara Bolton, at the time, cabinet member for planning and prosperity, said after the hearing, "Hopefully, this is the final episode in a long saga. He's been messing the authority around and the courts - so really he should think carefully in the future." So, the council has won the battle in the 'Untidy Garden Man' saga but has it won the war? As Mr Ellison has pointed out in the past, the council do not exactly have a clean sheet themselves where rubbish is concerned. Local residents alleged choice items removed from Mr Ellisons garden failed to make their way into the skips and were taken away by the workmen. This constitutes theft as the council well know after a man appeared in court for stealing a slide which the city council had thrown away - in a skip! Mr Ellison has offered a £5,000 reward for the return of all of his property that was stolen. Councillor Bolton believes this is the end of the matter - maybe not.

By comparison.......

A Derby man who stabbed a doorman escaped a custodial sentence after a judge said that bouncers' behaviour could be "provocative". Glenroy Reid cut Michael Verdon's back after being ejected from Destiny and Elite nightclub, Colyear Street, Derby, for rowing with a girl. But at Derby Crown Court, Judge Richard Benson said his testimonials showed him to be a "decent young man" - and claimed security staff were not always blameless. He said, "Doormen these days all look like chaps who spend a lot of time in the gym and on occasions, their behaviour can be provocative."

The court was told how Mr Verdon and another doorman confronted Reid as he argued inside the club. Reid had become overly aggressive, and the security staff grabbed him and began pushing him towards the door. Reid struggled all the way before he was eventually ejected, and the two doormen began walking back into the club. But Reid then pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed Mr Verdon in the back, causing a 1cm cut which required stitches. He told police he had been victimised and only acted in self-defence. He said he pulled the knife because racial comments caused him to over-react.

Reid, who admitted wounding, was given a two-year community rehabilitation order in spite of the fact he was carrying a knife and was quite prepared to use it. The message seems to be that it's alright for a "decent young man" to carry a knife and over-react if they feel they are being victimised but god help you if you have an untidy garden. But then, Glenroy Reid didn't fail to comply with a court order did he?

Kenneth Harrison, a 71 year-old OAP with a 50-year criminal career, received a four month jail sentence for punching a woman.

Michael Yates, a primary school teacher who downloaded child pornography from the internet and had video footage of girls undressing at his school, was jailed for four months. He was ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders' Register for seven years and banned indefinitely from working with children.