A HABITUAL criminal with 106 offences on his record, including theft and battery, has been jailed for breaching court orders within days of them being imposed.

Jason Caswell’s plan to start a new life in Ilkley has been put on hold after a 12-month suspended sentence order was activated in full at Bradford Crown Court this week.

Caswell, who was remanded in HMP Leeds, was caught loitering on a bench in Keighley town centre on March 18 in breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order (CRIMBO) banning him from Low Street.

He also pleaded guilty to two breaches of the suspended sentence order by not turning up at the induction appointments.

Caswell, 49, formerly of Parkwood Rise, Keighley, now of no fixed address, was given the suspended sentence on February 25 for assaulting two police officers by spitting at them.

Prosecutor Ken Green said he argued with a Police Community Support Officer who saw him sitting on the bench at 6.20pm. At first he said he wasn’t banned from the street and later claimed it was a breach of his human rights.

He has 54 previous convictions for 106 offences, mostly for matters of dishonesty and failing to comply with court orders.

Mr Green asked that the CRIMBO be extended to include a ban on Caswell attending at Keighley Parish Church. The court heard that the church helped people who were homeless and short of food and Caswell had been causing problems there.

His barrister, Lauren Smith, said it would be unjust to activate the suspended sentence.

Caswell had been homeless on his release from prison. He was living on the streets of Leeds without a phone and out of touch with the probation service. The order was in its infancy and did not have a chance to get going.

He was not causing any trouble while sitting on the bench in Keighley.

Caswell had now been in custody for six weeks and had a new address to go to in Ilkley.

He was free from illegal substances and keen to engage with the court orders.

Recorder Tahir Khan QC said Caswell had a long and unenviable criminal record that included shop theft, possession of a bladed article and offences of battery in the recent past.

On February 25, he was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, for two offences of assaulting a police officer by spitting at them.

On March 3, just a few days later, he failed to attend an induction appointment and missed another one later that month.

Recorder Khan said the only sensible option available to the court was to activate the 12 months.

Caswell was jailed for three months to run concurrently for the breach of the CRIMBO which was extended by five years until 2027.

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