A MAN who escaped an immediate prison sentence for cutting two women’s hair as they slept, is now behind bars, having breached the probation order he received in its place.

Ryan Hallimond has finally been brought to justice after recently being arrested on a bench warrant, having been, “on his toes”, for more than a year.

The now 24-year-old defendant, of Maple Street, Shildon, was initially before Durham Crown Court after admitting two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm, in January last year.

It related to an early hours’ visit to a house, on May 8, 2016, after he received a message from a woman with whom he had been in a casual relationship.

She had been drinking with a friend at the house in Shildon, and by the time Hallimond got there, shortly after 4am, both were asleep.

A woman sleeping downstairs woke to find Hallimond cutting her hair and when she asked what he was doing, he said she, “should see” what he had done to her friend upstairs.

She went upstairs and saw clumps of her friend’s hair lying on the floor next to the bed in which she was still sleeping.

Hallimond, who left the property, later said something similar happened to him previously, and he considered it, “a joke”.

But the court heard one of the two women did some hair modelling and considered he had “violated” her.

Hallimond was given a 21-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, with a total £1,000 compensation bill to his two victims.

But he was also ordered to attend 30 probation-led rehabilitation activity days.

The court heard that after missing two of those early sessions breach proceedings were put in motion and he was summoned to court in June last year.

Having failed to turn up, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest, which was finally executed this week.

He appeared back at the court from custody. His barrister, Rebecca Brown, said he had been working to make money for his family, and could pay a fine.

But, Judge Jonathan Carroll said Hallimond could not, “buy his way” out of his dilemma, and imposed 20-months of the suspended sentence, with immediate effect.