Distraught Chesterfield man broke curfew to escape house his father had died in

A distraught Chesterfield man broke his curfew because he couldn’t bare to stay in the house where his father had recently died, a court heard.
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John Hirst, aged 30, now of Snapehill Crescent, Chesterfield, had sold his own home and move into a property with his poorly father to be able to care for him, Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court was told today, Tuesday, December 3.

Shortly before his father’s death in June, Hirst was fitted with an electronic tag as part of a community order he had been given for his part in a break-in at a premises in Lincolnshire.

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But when his father died at home from a long illness, Hirst found it difficult staying in at the address, and breached his curfew on several occasions.

Chesterfield Magistrates' Court where John Hirst appearedChesterfield Magistrates' Court where John Hirst appeared
Chesterfield Magistrates' Court where John Hirst appeared

Mitigating, Serena Simpson, said: “Mr Hirst had been a carer for his father for a long time before his father passed away back in July in the family home where Mr Hirst was also living.

“He took the death of his father very badly and he found that he could not be at the house. He found the whole situation too much to handle. He was extremely close to his father and it is still very raw for him now. He has tried to lay low to get himself together and come back to court.”

Hirst was initially given a community order with 150 hours of unpaid work in August 2018, shortly after the initial offence took place, the court heard. But when he had only completed one session in almost a year, the community order was amended to include a period of electronically monitored curfew.

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Prosecutor Robert Carr told the court that Hirst had first been arrested at 2.45am on August 27 at a Landrover compound in Saxilby, Lincolnshire, in possession of fuel canisters to the value of £300 - along with two others.

Ms Simpson said that Hirst – who admitted the breach – was now in a stable relationship, was living with his new partner and was trying to find work.

Magistrates issued him with another 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work.