A defendant who lied to a judge has had four months added to his jail sentence, thanks to the York Evening Press.

Bryan Wrigglesworth was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment by a judge at York Crown Court.

The court heard how a policeman was injured and pedestrians had to jump to safety when Wrigglesworth drove his car at speed through pedestrianised streets while trying to flee police who had asked to see his driving documents.

The sentence was tempered by Wrigglesworth’s mitigation that his mother had died of cancer the day before the police stopped him.

But an Evening Press reader phoned the paper to complain about its “inaccurate” report, saying that he lived with the defendant’s mother and she was very much alive and well.

After it was explained to the reader that the paper had to report what was said in court, he became angry and complained that “barristers can claim anything to get a sentence reduced.”

Following the complaint, Evening Press assistant editor Bill Hearld wrote to Judge Peter Charlesworth passing on the reader’s comments and explained that untruths uttered in court were one of the biggest sources of complaints to the paper.

The judge replied: “I have summoned Mr Wrigglesworth back to court and have added four months to his sentence.

“I do not think the barrister acted wrongly in this case – he was entitled to accept what he was told without proof.

“A barrister has a duty not to mislead the court and must not gratuitously attack the character of another, but he does not have to double-check everything he has been told.”

Do you have a story about the regional press? Ring 0116 227 3122/3121, or
e-mail [email protected]