Repeat offender jailed after trespassing on railway at Durham station

A Washington man has been jailed after past crimes caught up with him when he reoffended by running across intercity rail tracks to make threats.

Neal Preston’s bizarre actions at Durham city station led to his arrest and put him in breach of three previous ‘stay-out-of-trouble’ court orders.

Preston, 46, of Donvale Road, Donwell, is starting 14 weeks behind bars after a judge resentenced him for several misdemeanours of the previous year.

In March, he was handed a 15-month community order for driving while disqualified, failing to provide a sample for analysis and driving without insurance.

And in April, he was given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, for stealing from a shop.

Preston was also made subject to a conditional discharge in May for another shop theft.

At South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty to trespass in the proximity of a railway or on railway property on Saturday, May 6.

The court heard he did so to confront another man whose face he threatened to “bite off”.

He also admitted causing harassment, alarm or distress and failing to surrender to custody, both on that day.

And he pleaded guilty to breaching the terms of his community order by missing numerous appointments with the Probation Service.

District Judge Zoe Passfield revoked the community order and jailed Preston for 14 weeks for failing to provide a sample and to six weeks concurrent for driving while banned.

The judge activated the suspended prison sentence and jailed Preston for 12 weeks, to run concurrently.

And she jailed him for two seven-day concurrent terms by revoking the conditional discharge and for failing to surrender to custody.

There was no separate penalty for the railway trespass charge, which is not an imprisonable offence.

Of his latest crimes, Judge Passfield said: "These offences were committed while you were on a community order and a suspended sentence and a conditional discharge.

"You were given the chance to turn things around by complying with Probation. You didn’t do that."

Outlining Preston’s railway offences, prosecutor Lee Poppett said: "A British Transport Police officer was on duty.

"He describes seeing Mr Preston walking across the tracks and effectively approaching an unknown male.

"He heard him shout, ‘I’ll bite your face off’ and paced around the male. The male did respond but was very much the victim in the officer’s view.

"It’s the antecedents that the court has got to be concerned about."

Harry Burn, defending, said: "His partner died in August and his mother had been diagnosed with colon cancer.

"He came here today and the first thing he said to me was, ‘I need to sort things out’. He said his partner of 20 years has gone and he needs to sort things out.

"Probation is saying today that ‘we can help you’. You may have sympathy that his partner has died. It’s the last chance for him."

Judge Passfield also ordered Preston pay a victim surcharge of £154. There were no court costs.