Accused missed probation meeting as 'has no phone'

A media company director due to be sentenced for illegally running a business missed a probation appointment because he has no phone, a judge has been told.

Peter Etherington, who has admitted running a company while being banned from doing so, appeared at Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday.

The court was told the 69-year-old had failed to attend a March appointment with the probation service to carry out a pre-sentence review, which is needed for the court hearing to go ahead.

He missed a previous court hearing over the case after claiming to be in an induced coma but was seen shopping in Tesco.

Etherington, of Belle Vue, Ilkley, was due to appear at Bradford Magistrates' Court in January but an email from his daughter claimed he was in hospital.

During the hearing, Holly Clegg, prosecuting on behalf of the Insolvency Service, said there was "information to suggest he has been seen in Tesco".

At a further court appearance in March, he admitted he acted as a director of PP Global Media Ltd while serving a ban from the Insolvency Service.

Andrew James Walker, defending, told the judge that Etherington does not own a phone and claimed he had never received letters sent by the probation service.

Judge Richard Gioserano said: "He must have realised weeks ago that no one from probation had been in touch. I can't for the life of me understand why he didn't get in touch with someone."

Walker told the court Etherington had multiple physical and mental health issues and was awaiting an MRI scan to check for cancer and also had issues with diabetes, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Adjourning the case until 5 August, the judge told a probation officer in court to hand Etherington a piece of paper with the date of his appointment so there could be no question as to whether he had received the information.

Referring to the pre-sentence report and the seriousness of Etherington's crime, the judge added: "No matter how good the report is, it is not likely to save him."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.