A Northwich man was led away in handcuffs to serve a three month jail term following his long-running campaign of unlawful harassment against Cheshire West and Chester Council.
Robert Pickthall, 61, broke an anti-harassment injunction imposed after bombarding CWaC with thousands of emails including allegations of criminality, corruption and dishonesty.
Pickthall, of Weaver Road, was handed a suspended prison sentence in December for breaching the order.
CWaC today (Wednesday, July 20) successfully argued at Manchester Civil Justice Centre the suspended sentence should be activated for contempt of court because of eight further breaches.
Pickthall also faces legal costs of £5,000.
Judge Mr Justice Michael Soole found the respondent flouted the terms of the order that prevented him publishing misconduct allegations against councillors and officers on his Bloodhound website or making contact with them.
He said: “All in all I can see no basis whatsoever for not activating the suspended sentence in full. These were flagrant and repeated breaches of the order made by Mr Justice Holroyde. There is no element of contrition or regret and the only course it seems to me the court can take is to activate the suspended sentence.
“In doing so, I bear in mind that the primary purpose of sentencing is to ensure compliance with orders of the court and the effective administration of justice. I can see no reason for giving any further indulgence by a further suspension.”
He imposed no additional penalty for the latest eight breaches.
The court previously heard how Pickthall’s crusade against CWaC began after a dispute with his landlord in 2010. It continued when he moved to Butchers Stile Playing Field, Davenham, where he believed unlawful development had taken place.
An application to commit Pickthall to jail over the breaches was postponed in June after the respondent, who walks with a stick, suffered a suspected stroke now thought to have been a hemiplegic migraine.
Pickthall, who accepted the breaches, said in mitigation his condition had not yet been properly diagnosed and could not be looked after appropriately in prison.
He told the judge: “I’m asking that you take into account that I’m at risk if you send me to prison.”
Pickthall also alleged the main claimant in the case, CWaC, a public authority, was not entitled to ‘seek relief’ under the 1997 Protection from Harassment Act.
He said the legal action was also supported by co-claimants ex-council officer David Finlay, Cllr Mike Jones and Cllr Helen Weltman, which was being financed by council taxpayers.
“The council can’t fund those private prosecutions,” he argued.
“This is totally unlawful, my lord. And I’m going to go to prison. This can’t be right. This is outrageous. I’m going to go to prison and they have broken the law. How is that possible?”
Last week applications brought by Pickthall seeking £1m damages from the local authority and £60,000 from Mouldsworth Parish Council were struck out for being ‘totally without merit’.
A civil restraint order was granted to prevent the respondent making any more claims in future.
Pickthall, who was accompanied by his friend Zelda Davies, had brought a bag to court. He went willingly with the guards when taken down to the cells.
