Man gets banned from Sunderland city centre after incident at Greggs - then ends up in court for breach

Michael Slee, 41, was given his marching orders along with a woman after a theft from Greggs in Fawcett Street.

Slee, of Wraith Terrace, Ryhope Colliery, who was not a party to the theft, and the woman were handed 48-hour prohibition notices to stay away.

But he was spotted just inside the outlined border ban zone less than seven hours later, prosecutor Glenda Beck said.

Mrs Beck told magistrates in South Tyneside the section 35 direction was given to the pair by police at 1.09pm on Thursday, April 20.

She added: “He was issued with a dispersal notice for Sunderland city centre. A copy of the notice and a map were accepted by him.

“At 7.38pm, when he was to be excluded for a period of 48 hours, he was seen within the exclusion area.

“He was arrested for failing to comply with the dispersal notice.”

Slee pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to comply with a section 35 direction excluding a person from an area.

Such notices can be used by police to deal with people engaged in suspected antisocial behaviour or crime.

Magistrates heard Slee was last before the courts in 2019 when he was jailed for robbery.

The woman did not face prosecution over the incident at Greggs.

Jason Smith, defending, said: “He accepts that he was in the town. He and a female were stopped.

“He wasn’t responsible for any unsocial behaviour in Greggs, but both were given a dispersal notice.

“He was in Borough Road, it was right on the edge, he thought that he was outside.

“For being right on the edge of the dispersal area, he’s spent 13 hours in custody. I think that’s enough for being asked to leave the city centre for 48 hours.”

Magistrates handed Slee a six-month conditional discharge, with £85 court costs and a £26 victim surcharge.

Before leaving court, he told them: “I didn’t even know that I was in the city centre.”