Man charged over collision that seriously injured two Harrogate teenagers

A man has been charged in connection with a collision on Yew Tree Lane in Harrogate that left two teenagers seriously injured.

The 15-year-old Rossett School students who were walking to school at the time, were taken to hospital following the collision at 8.46am on February 2.

Benjamin Oakes, 46, of Tewit Well Avenue, Harrogate has been charged with two counts of causing serious injury by careless driving in a Vauxhall Astra.

He is due to appear at Harrogate Magistrates Court this morning.

Police said a second man who was interviewed under caution will face no further action.


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Man admits assault and having knuckleduster in Harrogate bar

A man has admitted assaulting two women and possessing a knuckleduster in Harrogate.

Adam Smith, 40, pleaded guilty to the charges at Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday.

Smith, of Bunting Drive, Tockwith assaulted a named woman and a female police officer on The Ginnel on April 15 this year.

He also admitted having a knuckleduster in Manahatta, which is also on The Ginnel.

Magistrates gave Smith a community order, which required him to abstain from alcohol for 120 days and carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.

He was also fined £349.

Court documents said the defendant’s guilty plea was taken into account when imposing sentence.


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Harrogate man with PTSD given suspended sentence for 16 offences

A Harrogate man has been handed a suspended prison sentence after magistrates told him they were giving him a chance to avoid getting into more trouble.

Aaron Peter Wilson, 44, of Russell Street, appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court to be sentenced on 16 charges on Friday.

The offences were committed on six separate dates between July 2022 and March this year.

They included six counts of assaulting people by beating them and one of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of violence.

There were also eight counts of criminal damage, all of which were committed on cars in Harrogate and Knaresborough. The value of the damage caused ranged from £11.85 to £510.

Prosecuting, Alison Whitely told magistrates the victims had often encountered Wilson in the street:

“These people are members of the public minding their own business who have been randomly picked on, either by their property being damaged or being assaulted.”

Ms Whiteley highlighted Wilson’s history, which included 26 previous offences.

She said some of the crimes he was being sentenced for on Friday were committed while he was subject to a community order for a separate offence.


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However, in defence, Martin Townend of Watson Woodhouse Solicitors told the court that most of the offences took place between July and September 2022, with just one incident in March 2023.

He said Wilson had been out of trouble since his last conviction in 2018, a period when he was “in a good state of health”.

He said:

“Mr Wilson has been diagnosed with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder]. When he was younger, he did some voluntary work in Bosnia when the conflict was in force.

“He saw things in that country that have affected his mental health. When he has flashbacks, he drinks to make those flashbacks stop.”

Drinking problems

Mr Townend said all Wilson’s offending had occurred when he had been drinking. He often then made loud comments in public, such as accusing people of being drug dealers or paedophiles, causing strangers to object, which led him to lash out.

Since the last offence, Mr Townend said Wilson had found work through one local charity and was volunteering with another. He had also joined an organisation offering support with staying sober.

Mr Townend added:

“In the main, he is sticking to not drinking, because he realises the drink is the catalyst for this behaviour… he has started to look at himself, not really like what he has seen, and he has taken steps himself to do something about it.”

The magistrates were given a lengthy report to consider, including psychiatric assessments, before deciding how to sentence Wilson.

For all 16 offences, he was given a total prison sentence of 26 weeks, suspended for 18 months.

He was also ordered to wear an alcohol tag for 120 days, meaning if he drinks during that time he will be made to return to court if he drinks. He must also complete 30 days of rehabilitation activity.

Magistrates imposed a victim surcharge of £154, but did not award costs because of Wilson’s limited means. Nor did they award compensation, saying no invoices had been submitted to account for the value of the damage done to the cars.

Wilson was warned that some of the three magistrates had wanted to send him straight to prison. The suspended sentence, he was told, was a “very serious order” and if he got in any trouble during its term, or failed to comply with the other requirements, he would be jailed.

Man denies wounding Harrogate pub landlord

A man will face trial at crown court after allegedly assaulting the landlord of a pub in Harrogate.

Christopher Roy Adamson, 30, of Woodfield Avenue, Harrogate, is alleged to have been at the Claro Beagle in Coppice Gate when the incident happened shortly after 10pm on April 9 last year.

Mr Adamson appeared at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court today to face a charge of wounding landlord Alan Hutchcraft, leaving him in need of hospital treatment for cuts to his head.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to that charge, as well as one of damaging Mr Hutchcraft’s glasses, said to be worth £485. Mr Adamson will now face a jury at York Crown Court.

He was given unconditional bail to make an initial appearance in York on Monday, July 3.


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Knaresborough luxury car dealer faces 16 fraud charges

The owner of a car dealership in Knaresborough has appeared in court charged with 16 counts of fraud amounting to more than £1 million.

Andrew Mearns, 54, is alleged to have committed the offences at Gmund Cars in Knaresborough between August 2016 and March 2019.

Sixteen different victims were named in the charges, with the largest individual fraud said to be worth £220,000.

Mr Mearns, whose current address was given as Colwyn Place, Llandudno, appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court this morning to face the charges.

Wearing a white shirt and grey trousers, he spoke to confirm his name and address but did not enter pleas to the 16 counts of fraud by false representation.

Prosecutor Alison Whitely told the court the alleged offences took place over a “considerable period” while Mr Mearns owned and ran Gmund, a company dealing luxury cars.

Magistrates said the case was too serious for them to deal with and told Mr Mearns he would face trial at York Crown Court. His first appearance there was set for June 26.


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Teenagers sentenced for damaging Boroughbridge school roof

Two teenagers have been sentenced after causing £660 worth of damage to a Boroughbridge school.

The boys, aged 15 and another 14, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were referred to a youth offenders panel for 12 months after damaging tiles and window seals at Alborough and Boroughbridge County Primary School last year.

The teenagers were charged with intending to destroy or damage such property or being reckless as to whether such property would be destroyed or damaged.

The incident happened on October 13 last year at the school on York Road.

The pair were also charged with trespassing in the maintenance building at the school on October 10, 2022, and stealing £94 worth of beer and wine. Another boy, aged 16, was also charged with the same offence.


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The three were sentenced to a youth offender panel after pleading guilty.

All three boys were sentenced at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Friday (May 19).

Driver banned after failing to stop at serious crash in Harrogate

A man has been banned from driving after failing to stop and report a serious crash on Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road.

Harris Hendry-Hussain, of Swinton Court, Harrogate, pleaded guilty to three offences in relation to the crash in the early hours of March 6 last year.

The 21-year-old crashed his Volkswagen Golf into two cars, a Seat Ibiza and a Peugeot, causing “substantial damage” to both vehicles.

The crash blocked Cold Bath Road at 3.10am and left one passenger of the Volkswagen requiring hospital treatment for neck and back injuries.

In a statement at the time, North Yorkshire Police said it was “sheer luck” no one died.

Hendry-Hussain appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court for sentencing yesterday after admitting driving without insurance, failing to stop after a road accident and failing to report the accident.

The prosecution told the court that when police arrived at the crash on the morning of March 6, Hendry-Hussain was not at the scene.

Once he was found by officers and interviewed, he initially told police that he “did not know who was driving” the Volkswagen.


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The court heard that, after a forensic investigation of the car, officers interviewed the 21-year-old for a second time. He declined to comment.

He was later charged with three offences. Hendry-Hussain initially denied the charges, but later changed his plea at a hearing on April 24.

His defence told the court that Hendry-Hussain had “accepted the offences” put to him and that he had “done something really stupid”.

The court also heard that the defendant was already serving a community order for a separate offence, which was imposed by the courts after the crash.

Magistrates banned Hendry-Hussain from driving for 12 months.

He was given a 12-month community order requiring him to undertake 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £95 and £150 in court costs.

Ex-England footballer Micah Richards fined for speeding in Knaresborough

Former England footballer Micah Richards has been fined for speeding in Knaresborough.

Richards, 34, of Nidd, near Harrogate, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday charged with the offence.

He pleaded guilty to speeding in excess of 30 mph on the B6165 at an address listed as Howe Hill in Knaresborough on August 3 last year.

A separate charge of failing to identify the driver of a vehicle in relation to another traffic offence on December 27, 2022, was withdrawn.

The 34-year-old, who was driving a Rolls Royce at the time, was fined £666 and his licence was endorsed with three penalty points.

The magistrates also ordered Richards to pay a victim surcharge of £266 and court costs of £90.


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Richards was previously banned from driving for six months in 2013 after he failed to respond to two speeding notices sent to his home address.

The former footballer made 203 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa and Manchester City, where he won the league in 2012 and FA Cup in 2011, before retiring in 2019.

He also won 13 caps for England between 2006 and 2012.

Richards now works as a pundit for Sky Sports and BBC Sport.

Harrogate man denies rape of girl under 13

A Harrogate man has denied raping a girl under the age of 13.

Carl Briggs, 42, of Wisteria Gardens, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court to face two charges on Friday (April 28).

Briggs, who spoke only to confirm his name and enter a plea, denied two counts of rape of a girl under the age of 13.

He pleaded not guilty to the first charge, which is alleged to have taken place at a house in Knaresborough between September 13, 2013, and September 13, 2017.

The 42-year-old denied a second count, which is alleged to have taken place in Bradford.

Magistrates ordered Briggs to appear before York Crown Court on May 30, 2023.


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Couple deny defrauding Harrogate estate agents with £24m wealth claim

A couple have denied a string of fraud offences after it was alleged they dishonestly claimed to have wealth of £24 million to gain a tenancy on a house in the Harrogate district

John and Jacqueline Carnell appeared via video link from their home in Loule, Portugal, to face the charges at Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between July 2014 and December 2018.

Mr Carnell, 70, denied 10 charges, including dishonestly making a false representation to Hopkinsons Estate Agents that he had personal funds of £24,172,421 to gain a 12-month tenancy agreement to rent a property named in court as Highfield House.

He also denied continuing to make false representations about his wealth, including being the beneficiary of a trust fund, to maintain renting the property.

Mr Carnell also faced a charge of being in possession of letters purporting to be from Barclays Wealth suggesting an account balance of between £24 million and £26 million “for use in the course of or in connection with a fraud”.

Meanwhile, the 70-year-old pleaded not guilty to changing names on cheques to his wife’s and presenting two cheques to Hopkinsons representing that there was sufficient funds to pay his tenancy, when there was not.

Mr Carnell also faced two charges of stealing cash transfers which were made for a specific purpose.

One count was in relation to £40,810 being made for the purchase of vehicles and another for £102,910 which was made for the payment of disbursements for a planning application at Archer Hill.


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He was also charged with two counts of obtaining credit without informing that he was an undischarged bankrupt.

The 70-year-old denied all charges.

Meanwhile, Ms Carnell, 73, pleaded not guilty to changing the name on a signed cheque to her own to induce Barclays Bank to accept it as genuine.

She also denied a charge of presenting two cheques to Hopkinsons Estate Agents representing that there was sufficient funds to pay the tenancy at Highfield House, when there was not.

Antony Farrell, prosecuting, requested that the case be heard at crown court due to the “long and complex” nature of the charges and the values involved.

The magistrates ordered both defendants to appear before York Crown Court on May 30, 2023.