A REPEAT nuisance who has made pensioners fearful of collecting their pension has been jailed for four months. 

Stephen Crozier repeatedly flouted court orders designed to protect the public and businesses from harassment and has most recently moved his offending from Middlesbrough town centre to the shopping parade on Acklam Road.

Middlesbrough Council Neighbourhood Safety Officers have been told by pensioners visiting the Post Office that they will now travel to other parts of the town to collect their pension due to Crozier's begging.

Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston welcomed the sentence given to Crozier saying there had to come a time when people face consequences for their actions.

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Teesside County Court heard how the original Civil Injunction had been imposed on the 56-year-old defendant - who has always been securely housed and not homeless - in October 2019.

The conditions meant that Crozier was not to enter the town centre - where he had been repeatedly begging and pestering the public - for a period of three years.

In February 2020 he was taken to court where he admitted 22 out of 34 breaches of the order put to him. In that case he was given a two-month jail sentence suspended for three months.

In July last year Crozier returned to court where he admitted five out of nine breaches put to him, following which the judge in the case re-imposed the previous sentence.

The Northern Echo:

Then in October 2020 he admitted six breaches of nine put to him leading to an immediate four-month jail sentence.

Following his release from prison after his October 2020 conviction he was found breaching his injunction on seven occasions, pleading guilty to all incidents.

As a result on May 10 this year he was issued with a two month prison sentence which was suspended until July 1.

However, he breached that sentence later on the very same day he was given it and on a further three occasions prior to the expiry of his suspended sentence when he was found begging in Middlesbrough town and at Acklam shops.

It was as a result of these breaches that he was brought back before the courts and given a four month prison sentence.

Mr Preston said: "It gives me no pleasure whatsoever to see people sent to jail but what the public don't see is the amount of work that goes in to helping people before we get to this point.

"I do feel sorry for him and I would like to make that clear early on that we work so hard to try to help Stephen and others who are troubled. But at the end of the day we have to take action to protect the public.

"We have council officers who work round around the clock helping people with issues including health and financial matters, housing, mental health, substance abuse and other important things.

"However, we also have to think of the people and businesses who suffer massively as the consequence of people's bad behaviour and so I hope this sentence is appreciated by them and that this man can use the help available to change his behaviour."

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