The following cases were heard at Reading and Slough Magistrates’ Courts: 

May 25

PAUL COOPER, 40, of Park Way, Newbury, admitted obstructed an engine or carriage using the railway at Newbury Racecourse railway station footbridge on September 26, 2021. Community order made. Required to carry out 40 hours of unpaid work. Must pay a victim surcharge of £95. 

May 26

DARREN DERWIN, 50, of Horne Road, Thatcham, admitted stealing seven bottles of spirits worth £157 from Tesco on London Road, Newbury, on November 1, 2021. Committed to prison for 18 weeks as offence committed during period of suspended sentence order. Must pay a victim surcharge of £128. 

May 27

STEPHANIE ALLAN, 31, of Park View, Reading, convicted of travelling on a railway without having paid a fare in Slough on January 5, 2022. Fined £220, made to pay £10.20 in compensation and ordered to pay £214 in court fees. 
MATTHEW BONNER, 30, of Crescent Road, Tilehurst, Reading, convicted of travelling on a railway without having paid a fare in Reading on January 5, 2022. Fined £220, made to pay £12.70 in compensation and ordered to pay £214 in court fees. 
OBED IHUNWO, 46, of Oxford Road, Tilehurst, Reading, convicted of travelling on a railway without having paid a fare in Reading on January 14, 2022. Fined £220, made to pay £7.10 in compensation and ordered to pay £214 in court fees. 
 

A fundamental principle of justice is that it must be seen to be done. Open justice is acclaimed on a number of grounds: as a safeguard against judicial error, to assist the deterrent function of criminal trials and to permit the revelation of matters of interest.