A LOUGHBOROUGH man who harassed his neighbours has been sent to prison for three months and 14 days after twice breaching an Anti-Social Behaviour Injunction.

Mark Storer, of Pevensey Road, committed his first breach three weeks before his 12-month Anti-Social Behaviour Injunction (ASBI) - that had been handed to him on August 7, 2007 - was due to expire.

He received a 14-day suspended sentence and his ASBI was extended by six months after being found guilty of the breach of the ASBI on July 16th.

On August 27th, the 46-year-old vandalised a nearby property and was arrested following a multi-agency approach between Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing and the Leicestershire Police.

He appeared at Leicestershire County Court last Tuesday (September 23) and was sent to prison for three months and told he must also serve the original 14-day suspended sentence.

Zoe Wortley, the Chairperson of Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing, welcomed the sentence and said it sends out a clear message that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated and all proven breaches of tenancy agreements will be enforced.

She added: "We take our responsibilities in this area very seriously and we aim to ensure that all of our tenants feel secure in their homes.

"We will not tolerate anti-social behaviour of any kind and will take all the necessary steps to address any issues of this nature."

Cllr David Snartt, the Chairman of the Charnwood Community Safety Partnership, added: "This is good news for the Charnwood area.

"Reducing anti-social behaviour is one of the Partnership's top priorities and this is particularly please as it shows how multi-agency work can produce a result, which not only sends a strong message but starts to improve the quality of life of those affected by this type of behaviour.

"It is also welcome to hear that Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing is continuing to enforce proven breaches of tenancy agreements. This will be music to the ears of all law-abiding tenants whose lives are sometimes blighted and disrupted by this kind of activity."

PC Russ Johnson, the North Area Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator, said: “This is an excellent result which shows the seriousness attached to these injunctions by the Civil Court.

"As this case shows, using civil law to address peoples offending behaviour is a very useful tool which can be used when either the victim or perpetrator is in social housing.”

ENDS