Gloucester man jailed for repeated anti-social behaviour in city

A Gloucester man has been jailed for three months for his continued anti-social behaviour in the city.

Matthew Pettit, aged 35, and of Painswick Road, Gloucester, repeatedly breached an Anti-Social Behaviour Injunction which banned him from parts of the city.

He was handed the order on 6 August last year, which also forbid him to beg or drink alcohol in public outside of licensed premises.

But after numerous breaches, which saw him brought back before the courts, Pettit has now been sent to prison for 16 weeks.

The sentence was handed to him at Gloucester Crown Court on Monday 4 October after it heard that he had continually breached the order even whilst on a suspended sentence.

The majority of the breaches were for entering the exclusion zone, where he would street drink from an open vessel of alcohol and cause anti-social behaviour, as well as become abusive to police and city protection officers.

Sam Higginson, from Solace, said: “In Gloucestershire, we are fortunate enough to have multiple supported accommodation projects which provide a safe environment for people who have more complex needs.

“Despite this, Pettit continues to breach and show no regard for the court order or suspended sentences.”

The custodial sentence follows great evidence gathering by both the City Protection Officers and the Local Policing Team.

Andy Plant, from Gloucester Neighbourhood Team, added: “We have worked for some considerable time to prevent the behaviours Pettit has inflicted upon the public.

“We will continue to work with Solace and CitySafe to prevent anti-social behaviour in the city Centre and make it a pleasant place to visit.”

Steve Lindsay, from Gloucester CitySafe, said: “This is a good result following some great partnership working.

“The city protection officers have worked tirelessly in engaging with Matthew for a number of years now. He has breached this court order several times and it’s good to see the courts have been robust.

“Hopefully this will go some way to show that this will not be tolerated in the city.”