Judges free single father ‘for sake of five children’

A SINGLE father-of-five who claimed a judge failed to give enough consideration to the “plight” of his children when sending him to jail has won his freedom.

By The Newsroom

Published 28th May 2011, 07:00 BST

Wayne Bishop, 33, from Clifton, Nottingham, appealed against a decision of a judge at Nottingham Crown Court last month to imprison him for eight months for a rugby club burglary and dangerous driving.

Two judges at the Court of Appeal in London yesterday ruled his eight-month prison sentence should be suspended. Bishop’s legal team said the appeal was about striking a balance between the “clear need” for him to be punished and the needs of his five children, aged 5-13. Bishop looks after his children five days a week with the help of his sister, who has seven children of her own, and ex-partner, who works full-time

Mr Justice Maddison, sitting with Mr Justice Sweeney, said the jail sentence was “entirely appropriate” but they could not ignore the plight of the children and their carers.

Clifton Nottingham