A PROLIFIC thief with a record of crimes including assaulting shop staff appeared before magistrates at an Essex court today – and appeared to be treated with more respect that a 99-year-old war hero and highly respected Thurrock man.

This is a personal, highly emotional piece that I write as editor of Thurrock Nub News and a member of the Grays RAF Association club after spending much of today (Friday, 1 August) at Southend Magistrates' Court – where benefits recipient and drug and booze addict Lee Britchford appeared for sentencing after a litany of thefts and assaults which included a much-talked about theft of garden furniture from the RAFA Club.

His early morning thieving exploits over two days in June were captured on CCTV and published by myself on Thurrock Nub News. They can be viewed via this link.

I published the story after first reporting the theft and supplying information about them to Essex Police via its Report It Online service – a portal championed by local police as vital in the fight against crime.

Yet within two days of doing so I received a letter from Essex Police saying there wasn't enough evidence to investigate, and the police would not be pursuing the matter.

Which came as something of a surprise, as by the time I had that letter (addressed to 'Jay' Speight) in my hands, vigilant cops in Thurrock's local policing team had seen the video and nicked the well-known thief Mr Britchford for the theft.

Again, Nub News reported the story. The theft took place on the nights of Wednesday and Thursday, 25 June and I was delighted to bring you this story on 2 July, detailing the arrest and subsequent charges against Britchford.

As is the way of clearing up unsolved incidents and clearing a record, Britchford 'coughed' to a number of other crimes and eventually appeared before Southend magistrates and admitted 15 offences.

They were two charges of common assault, when he attacked Grays shop staff attempting to stop him stealing and 12 thefts from Grays town centre stores including Farm Fresh and Morrisons and Tescos in Stifford Clays. He also admitted the theft of the tables and chairs from the RAF Club, which was detailed as 'theft -other – including theft by finding'.

Since then, I have received a personal apology for the cock-up from Essex Police over them initially rejecting my information – and a pledge of a review of procedure.

But in the interim, on Saturday, 12 July my fears were raised when I got a call from a police officer saying that the case relating to the RAFA theft was in jeopardy because there was no evidence or a statement corroborating the theft.

I attempted to point out that that information had been supplied, pointed her in the direction of the Nub News stories and I asked her if she was aware of how the judicial system works. Even if that information was now lost, it was irrelevant as Britchford had already appeared in court, been charged with the offence and admitted his guilt.

I also pointed out the RAF club had been contacted by other officers with news that the force, via the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)  would be advising the sentencing hearing that compensation was due to the RAF Club.

She didn't want to listen, said I was being disrespectful and that she and her colleagues put their lives on the line for members of the public. Then she hung up. Hardly Dixon of Dock Green!

Perhaps that should have alerted me to what was coming, but I trusted in due process. Big mistake!

Without the intervention of Thurrock Nub News, today's case and the solving of 15 crimes would not have happened.

When it came to court today the CPS solicitor, who I believe is called Ms Peck, stumbled and mumbled her way through the list of charges, getting place names and dates wrong and giving little detail. She was only able to tell magistrates details, in terms of the value of thefts, from three of the shop thefts.

She made hardly any reference to the RAFA theft other than stealing of chairs. It took chairman of the bench, Phillip Esdaile JP, to describe them as a patio table and chairs.

In more than 45 years of sitting in courts the length and breadth of England, it was the worst presentation of facts and a prosecution case I have ever seen. At the outset of the day's hearings, I had spoken to her, said I was in court to cover the case but also to represent the club and that if she needed any impact of what the theft had on the club, I was willing to give it. It's not exactly unheard of for 'victim' statements to b heard at sentencing.

I pointed out that the theft from the club, while annoying, was not exactly crime of the century, but the disrespect to the service organisation had a bigger impact on some older members, particularly the club president, war hero, top chap and my friend Jim Gooding.

She wrote it down, but then ignored it.

I must admit I got agitated as the case drew to a close and the magistrates pontificated, without them ever being made aware of the impact in personal terms of Britchford's thievery, and that the police had said compensation for the loss would be forthcoming for the RAFA – a voluntary charity.

When the magistrates left the court to discuss their decision on sentencing, I raised the matter with 'Ms Peck' and, I can't lie, I was wound up and I made my point that she had not done a good job in strong, though not (I believe) abusive terms.

I had learned from sources at the court she is an American lawyer who had recently come to the UK and joined the CPS after practicing law in Brooklyn and perhaps I did overstep the mark when I suggested she ought to go back there because it appeared to me she didn't appear to understand what's important here and what British people expect by way of justice.

That, I'm afraid, lit the blue touchpaper, she demanded that I be arrested 'on the spot' for being 'discriminatory' and that I was in contempt of court. I certainly wasn't the former, her country of origin and nationality had nothing to do with my view of her being a crap lawyer. As for being in contempt of court, I'm not sure as it wasn't actually in session as the magistrates were retired, but I'm more than happy to admit I'm contemptuous of what I witnessed.

At that point the clerk summoned the court security guards and was told I had to leave the courtroom, hence at this point I can't tell you what Britchford's sentence was.

Is courtroom justice now an empty promise?

Reflecting on the matter, I really feel I must make this statement.

Of all the people involved, I don't have a particular major issue with Lee Britchford. He's clearly got issues and is a thief – and a prolific one – but on the scale of criminality, he's small fry. I more than recognise that theft of food and some table and chairs isn't crime of the century, though I can't help but view assaulting shop staff as serious.

But his background, which does include eight other separate convictions for theft, may tell a sad story.

He's clearly got problems in his life, using heroin, other drugs and being an alcoholic according to his probation report. That service says he is now making progress. I actually sat and had a brief conversation with him outside court during the day. Sober and drug free he seemed OK. If he can stay that way, maybe there's a chance he can put his past behind him and I know he's getting help now from the Forward Trust, who carry out much good work.

I wish him a better future, though I expect him to atone for his mistakes. I do know, for a fact, that one of the first people not to bear a grudge will be Jim Gooding. He sees good in everyone, probably a characteristic pondering life while sat at the back end of Lancaster bomber as a tail-end Charlie gunner over occupied Europe. He's a better man, I think, than either myself or Lee Britchford may ever be.

Hopefully Lee Britchford can mend his ways. I'm afraid I'm still likely to remain 'Mr Angry' over many things and let my frustrations overflow about injustice and incompetence.

And that's my primary beef. Particularly with the CPO. I had watch Ms Peck stumble through several cases before she got to the one, I was really interested in. Her performance was dreadful, but no-one, least of all the magistrates, Mr Esdaile and his colleagues Mr Morgan and Mrs Sandhu, seemed that bothered.  

The problem is, I think, that so little publicity is given to magistrates court reporting today that it's no surprise standards have slipped. And they are ponderously inefficient and timewasting – no wonder there's such a huge backlog of cases to be processed.

Today's combination of police inefficiency, lack of detail by the CPS and a deadpan presentation so lacking in emotion and passion that it had little chance of waking up one of the magistrates whose disinterest noticeable by the number of yawns has irritated me beyond belief.

So much so, because I can, I've got it off my chest in a very public way here.

I'm sure some people will suggest it's an ego trip. Perhaps it is!

But I angry about this, not particularly because of today, but because it reflects the huge lowering of standards within our judicial system.

A system that puts justice in the back seat behind a multitude of excuses.

On my way out, aside from some sympathy, a security guard gave me a form, which is given to people who might want to make a complaint.

It refers to complainants, who I suspect are mostly the accused or convicted, as 'customers'.

The dictionary definition I found of a customer is 'an entity that buys goods or services from a company'.

Well, that's certainly not the case for most of the people who pass through the court's dock. They tend to nick stuff – not buy it.

And as someone who went to court today to see justice delivered I don't regard myself as a customer. I want to see the rule of law applied in a straightforward, informed and accurate fashion, giving everyone – including the accused – fairness.

If we continue to accept second-best justice like I saw today, there won't be any need soon for 'customers'. Justice will have gone bankrupt.