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'Terror' twosome identified by Gazette

The identity of two teenage sisters who have been terrorising people in Basingstoke have been revealed – thanks to The Basingstoke Gazette.

It succeeded in getting magistrates to agree to lift reporting restrictions on the sisters, aged 17 and 15, who became the city’s first recipients of anti-social behaviour orders.

The orders – which will become effective after the sisters are released from 18-month detention and training order sentences – mean both are banned from a total of 40 shops and off-licences in the Basingstoke area.

The sisters were in court after committing various offences, some of which included intimidating innocent people who came into contact with them. Elderly residents were too scared to go to their local shops because the girls would often cause trouble there.

The Gazette carried interviews with some of those who fell foul of the pair, but could not name the sisters because the court refused to lift reporting restrictions.

This changed when Gazette crime reporter Charis Mastris presented a letter from editor Mark Jones, and made an application, supported by Basingstoke police area commander, to have the restrictions lifted.

The Gazette subsequently ran the court story and the sisters’ pictures on its front page, along with extensive background reports inside.

Mark Jones said: “We are delighted with the court’s decision to lift reporting restrictions.

“The Basingstoke public have a right to know about what these sisters have been doing and the lifting of restrictions also means that the ASBOs – which are very restrictive – will now be more effective.”

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