There were lots of people who lost their freedom and started prison sentences this month.

Here's just some of the robbers, killers, paedophiles, thieves, drug dealers and thugs who were locked up in February.

Michael Briggs

A knife-wielding would-be robber was jailed after threatening a shop worker.

Michael Briggs went into the store in Wrotham High Street in October last year and bought some crisps before returning a few minutes later with a knife.

The 35-year-old threatened a shop assistant with the weapon and demanded money from the till but as the victim refused, another customer came in and he left the store.

Police were called and when they found him they told him to put down the weapon and when he refused and put his hand in a pocket where the knife was suspected to be, further warnings were given before an officer discharged a taser.

Briggs, of Battlefields, Wrotham, was arrested and a craft knife was seized. He was later charged with attempted robbery and possession of a knife in a public place.

Briggs pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court and was sentenced to two years and six months' imprisonment and he will also be subject to a 10-year restraining order upon his release.

DC Megan Collins, of the Kent Crime Squad, said: “This criminal armed himself with a weapon with the sole purpose of robbing a local shop.

“He threatened a woman who bravely stood up to his demands and was ultimately taken into custody.”

David Allen

A drug dealer who had a £500,000 stash of class-A drugs and an arsenal of weapons stashed away was locked up.

David Allen was caught by police following a raid on his lock-up near Bethersden last year.

The 54-year-old had been identified as being involved in drug dealing around Kent following investigations led by detectives and on July 27 last year officers carried out a warrant at an industrial estate after Allen was seen approaching the site in his van.

He was arrested and a container he had the keys to was searched. Inside, officers found more than 60kg of amphetamine, more than a kilo of cocaine and around £70,000 in cash.

They also discovered two small guns, which Allen claimed were antiques, but were later found to be viable. Detectives also found drug packaging, money counting machines, needles and syringes and a purity test for cocaine.

At his home nearby, police seized 25 designer watches, ledgers recording deals, plus CS spray and a knuckleduster and further examination later estimated the drugs' street value to be around £500,000.

Allen, of Green Lane, Marden, was charged with and later admitted possessing amphetamine and cocaine with intent to supply, three charges of possession of a prohibited firearm and possessing criminal property.

He was brought before Maidstone Crown Court where he was jailed for six years.

Howmalow Mawum-Duop

An asylum seeker who piloted a small boat across the Channel packed with as many as 80 passengers including his heavily pregnant wife was jailed.

Sudanese national Howmalow Mawum-Duop was spotted steering the "grossly over-loaded and over-crowded" vessel as it made its way into English waters on the morning of September 26 last year.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the boat could be seen taking in water and those on board desperately trying to bail it out and according to the National Crime Agency (NCA), 22-year-old Mawum-Duop was subsequently arrested as part of an investigation into the death of a woman whose body was found on a beach near Calais that same day.

It was later reported she was a 24-year-old Eritrean national believed to have drowned while attempting the crossing, however, at Duop's sentencing hearing there was no mention of her death and the court was told all those found onboard the stricken inflatable when it was intercepted by the authorities had been safely rescued.

They included Mawum-Duop's wife who subsequently gave birth once in the UK and the court heard the couple were said to have set off from Sudan as long ago as January 2021 and then travelled to Chad, Libya and Tunisia, before reaching Italy and journeying to northern France.

Prosecutor Oliver Wellings told the court that having made it to the coast they then paid a total of about 1500 euros to make the perilous crossing and it is well-known that those organising people-smuggling operations often waive payment in return for piloting a boat.

Mawum-Duop, who on arrival in the UK was taken to the immigration facility at Manston and arrested the following day, later admitted assisting unlawful immigration and was jailed for 18 months.

The NCA also confirmed the investigation into the death of the female migrant, which is being led by the French authorities, continues.

Endrion Marfana

A drug dealer who gave a false name and nationality to try to conceal his identity was locked up.

Endrion Marfana from Tunbridge Wells claimed he was Italian after officers suspected he was supplying cocaine, but his lies were exposed when a translator was called and he couldn’t understand a word.

Marfana had been driving a Skoda Octavia, which was stopped by police on December 2, 2022, in Longfield Road, Tunbridge Wells.

When questioned, he claimed to be from Italy and provided a false name which matched the registered keeper of the car and he was detained for a drug search and eight wraps of cocaine were recovered from inside a plastic chewing gum container.

The officers also seized £95 cash and Marfana’s phone, which when later examined was found to contain text messages arranging the sale of drugs.

He was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of criminal property (namely the seized cash) and driving without insurance.

Marfana, 21, of Barnetts Close, Tunbridge Wells pleaded guilty to all the charges.

He was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court to one year and eight months’ imprisonment and he also forfeited the seized cash and received six points on his licence.

Nrender Biriah

A 48-year-old was jailed after pleading guilty to multiple thefts as well as breaching a criminal behaviour order.

Nrender Biriah, of no fixed address, attempted to steal bottles of spirits worth more than £140 from Asda in Thames Way, Gravesend, on January 22.

He also took groceries and other items valued at around £220 from Iceland in Overcliffe during the following two days.

Biriah was arrested and taken into custody on January 24.

He was then charged by officers from the North Kent Victim Based Crime Team with three counts of theft and five breaches of a criminal behaviour order.

Biriah denied all of the charges during his first appearance at Medway Magistrates’ Court on January 26.

However, he changed his plea to guilty at a hearing at the same court in February and was sentenced to 42 weeks in prison for the offences.

DS Chris Ellingham said: "This prolific thief has shown a complete disregard for the criminal justice system by breaching a criminal behaviour order imposed on him by the courts multiple times and he persistently targets businesses in Gravesend.”

Jason Smith

A Kent man who was part of a gang which brutally murdered a teenager at a park was jailed for life.

Jason Smith, 20, was one of six to be sentenced after 17-year-old Michael Jonas was lured to a park and fatally wounded.

It took the group just 120 seconds to inflict devastating injuries on Michael at Betts Park in Bromley in 2017 and Smith, of Bow Arrow Lane, Dartford, was sentenced to a minimum of 12-and-a-half years in prison.

Nyron Jean-Baptiste, of Queen Adelaide Road in Penge, Divon Henry-Campbell, of Fayland Avenue in Streatham, Sarraviho Smith, of Grove Hill Road in Camberwell, Jamie Marshall, of Burham Close, Penge, and Ryan Girense Brown, of Sydenham Road, Croydon, were all also jailed for life.

Police were called to the park on November 2, 2017, to reports of a stabbing and after paramedics arrived, the young man died at the scene and his cause of death was later given as stab wounds to the chest.

Michael had been approached by the group in nearby Anerley Road at around 7pm before they all walked through the park together and about 12 minutes later Jean-Baptiste was captured arriving at the scene and phone analysis later showed he had been called to come to the area by Henry-Campbell.

Just three minutes later, by 7.15pm, all of the defendants were seen fleeing the park on bicycles and DNA from bloodstains at the scene were also found to be one billion times more likely to be from Jean-Baptiste, who will serve a minimium of 31 years, rather than from an unknown and unrelated individual.

None of the group ever admitted responsibility or provided any reason for their actions however the court heard that they had believed Michael was a “snitch” and so carried out their fatal attack.

Andrzej Kitrys

A drunken man who tried to murder a sleeping neighbour after a row over Covid was jailed for 21 years.

Andrzej Kitrys stabbed his victim as she was begging for her life, telling her chillingly: "You're doing well. You're doing well."

The courageous woman fought the 36-year-old attacker off and fled to a neighbour's home in Kirby Road, Dartford.

She later told police she feared she was going to die during the frenzied attack involving at least 15 stab wounds in October 2022.

Judge Charles MacDonald KC said Kitrys had been a “vaccine denier” and had been ordered to leave the shared house after testing positive for Covid.”

Kitrys was given an immediate 21-year sentence and the judge then ordered he serve an extra four years on licence when he is released after being ruled dangerous.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the victim telling her attacker: "You changed my life by stabbing me and telling me you wanted to kill me.

"I cannot get the thought of you having a knife, pointing it towards my head and stabbing me, out of my head and all I could think was I am going to die.”

Liam Scott

Dramatic video footage showed a village store being smashed open in a ram-raid and the moment one culprit was hauled out of bed by officers swarming his home.

Liam Scott had been out of prison for less than a year when he and two "confederates" looted Alberta Holiday Park in Seasalter and the Co-op in Teynham, in what a judge described as "planned, professional and determined" hits.

Their crime spree in the early hours of December 30 last year resulted in significant damage and losses totalling more than £30,000, Canterbury Crown Court was told.

Following Scott being jailed for 31 months, Kent Police released CCTV footage of the Co-op raid, with a stolen Land Rover Defender being driven into the entrance, and the trio then stepping over the glass from a broken door.

In a separate video from body-worn cameras, Scott of Lower Road, Faversham, is seen being hauled out of bed by officers and arrested during a dawn raid. He later pleaded guilty to two offences of burglary, as well as theft, making off without payment and driving without insurance.

The court heard that having stolen the Defender from outside the owner's home in Faversham at about 1am, the 24-year-old was captured on CCTV reversing the £10,000 vehicle into the caravan park clubhouse 45 minutes later.

Scott and his accomplices, who are still at large, could be seen wearing hooded dark clothing, facial coverings and gloves as they went to considerable efforts to steal a cashpoint machine, but failed and nabbed a cigarette dispensing machine and two bottles of alcohol instead.

Within two hours, the raiders had targeted the Co-op in London Road, again reversing the vehicle into the shop entrance and they were then caught on camera trying to force open the cigarette cabinet shutters before nabbing two tills containing about £1,500 in cash.

Jamie Oakes

A former company boss was jailed after he held an employee at gunpoint and fired a blank close to the side of his face.

Jamie Oakes had accused the victim, who was a member of his staff, of stealing several dirt bikes and quad bikes from his home in Green Street Green Road, Dartford.

Instead of reporting his suspicions to police, the 37-year-old looked to seek his own justice on the morning of May 23 last year and, accompanied by another woman who joined the attack, they took the man to the back of Oakes’ property where they reportedly punched and kicked him.

During the incident Oakes revealed a blank firing pistol and started pulling the trigger near the victim's face, leaving burns on the side of his face and then left but soon returned with a shotgun and threatened to shoot the victim if they did not give the location of the stolen vehicles.

The company boss also threatened to kill the victim’s family but the man managed to escape and returned home to his home but later became aware several cars were in the area and people were looking for him. He left his address and the police were informed and the next day two warrants were carried out, one at Oakes’ address in Green Street Green and the second in Hillside Road, Dartford.

While at Oakes’ address officers found several items including a baseball bat, a large knife, several knuckle dusters, a case for a blank firing pistol, 9mm blank firing bullets, two air rifles and three shotgun cartridges and at the other address in Dartford, officers found eight shotgun cartridges hidden in a bread bag inside a wardrobe and also seized clothing that matched the description of one of the offenders.

Oakes was later charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and two counts of possession of an offensive weapon. He had denied the charges, but was found guilty and jailed for three-and-a-half years at Woolwich Crown Court.

Charlotte Powell, 34, also of Green Street Green Road, Dartford, was charged with assault by beating and actual bodily harm and she was given a two-year conditional discharge.

Tristian Hogben

A thug who smacked his girlfriend's head against a bath revealed his “softer side” when a judge was told he was anxious to return home to his guinea pigs.

Tristian Hogben's violent assault of the woman included him putting his hands to her neck to stop her talking and hitting her repeatedly against the floor.

But during his sentencing hearing at Canterbury Crown Court, the 46-year-old's lawyer explained how he was desperate to be freed from prison to look after his guinea pig “farm”, when Phil Rowley, defending, said the business of rearing the furry creatures was in a "fledgling" state when Hogben was arrested for the attack last year and remanded into custody.

A friend had been caring for the animals since but Mr Rowley said his client was "very focused" on getting back to them as soon as possible, but the submission appeared to lack bite when the judge concluded that Hogben could not be spared jail.

The court heard he had been in an "on and off" relationship with the woman for about five years and living together in Canterbury for nine months when violence flared.

Prosecutor Caroline Knight said that following an argument between the pair in August, the woman left their flat at about 6pm and headed to a friend's home, but Hogben turned up "drunk but calm" but soon became angry and started shouting.

He then put his hands to her neck, smashed her head repeatedly on the floor and, when in the bathroom, hit her head on the bath, and although there was no medical evidence, photographs shown in court showed "a nasty bruise” to the victim's head and scratches to her neck.

Hogben, previously of Old Park Avenue, Canterbury, gave a 'no comment' interview but later pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm.

He had also faced a charge of intentional strangulation but the prosecution offered no evidence and a formal not guilty verdict was recorded.

The court also heard he has 21 previous convictions for 30 offences including eight for violence and was subject to a 16-week suspended sentence at the time of the assault.

That had been imposed in May last year for breaching a restraining order and possessing Class A drugs with intent, but Recorder Vivian Walters said the only appropriate punishment was immediate custody and jailed him for 20 months.

Ayden Reader

A paedophile who moved to Kent after having a sexual relationship with a child was jailed.

Ayden Reader from Somerset pleaded guilty to 19 charges, including making indecent images of children, before being sentenced to nine years in prison.

A hearing in Taunton Crown Court was told how the 22-year-old had linked up with a teenage girl on social media in 2021 and began messaging her and after it was reported to police, officers seized Reader’s electronic devices and discovered 882 category A images (the most serious), 950 category B images and 2,543 category C indecent images.

While under investigation, officers secured an Interim Sexual Harm Prevention Order for Reader which led to him moving to Kent while inquiries continued and a Paedophile Online Team investigation in Kent was launched after receiving intelligence that he was accessing and sharing child abuse images while living in the county.

While being investigated by the two forces, Reader began messaging young girls on social media, breaching the terms of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and he also accessed devices he had not declared or made available to police.

Officers from Kent Police seized various devices, where they found 830 category A images, 973 category B images and 610 category C images. Reader was charged by Avon and Somerset Police with one count of sexual activity with a child, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, taking indecent images and six counts of making indecent images.

Police in Kent also charged him with three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of being in possession of prohibited images of children, distributing indecent images of children, possessing extreme pornography and four counts of breaching his Interim Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

During the hearing the judge also granted an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order for Reader and an indefinite restraining order banning him from contacting the victim for life.

Jan Gholami and Roqia Ghulami

A father found guilty of killing his adopted daughter at home before heading to a supermarket was jailed for life.

Jan Gholami had created a false alibi to establish he was not in the family home at the time two-year-old Zahra sustained her fatal injuries.

Former farm worker Gholami, 34, brought the tot to the UK from Afghanistan, just months before her death.

Prosecutors said the father-of-four had taken out his “bad temper” on her by “bashing her head against a wall” while he had claimed she had fallen down 13 stairs while at home with his partner.

But at Maidstone Crown Court, jurors convicted Gholami of murder in a majority verdict of 10 to two after deliberating for nearly 20 hours.

Mr Justice Wall gave him a life sentence where he will serve a minimum of 23 years and six months before he could be considered for parole.

The judge said: "This was not an isolated injury and the fatal injury was a re-fracture on a previous injury, you killed a vulnerable and defenceless young child in her own home.”

Wife Roqia Ghulami, 33, was acquitted of murder but was found guilty of child neglect, she was jailed for two years and as she has been in custody since the incident, it is expected she will be released soon.

Ricci Galea and Tommy Swain

The kingpin behind an organised crime group caught in the act importing cocaine worth an estimated £30 million, was jailed.

Ricci Galea, 37, was sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment, bringing the total jail time for those involved in the huge criminal operation to 61 years.

One of his accomplices, Tommy Swain, from Gravesend, was also jailed and Galea was found guilty of importing the class A drugs into the UK from South America after specialist police raided a haulage yard in Purfleet, Essex.

Officers found his gang unloading a shipment of 280kg packages of cocaine and the drugs had been hidden in the floor of an articulated lorry trailer, with detectives arriving as a forklift truck was being used to remove the parcels in May 2020.

A second lorry was also waiting to be loaded with the packages, for imminent onward distribution across the UK and an investigation led by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit established Galea was behind the EncroChat handle “blessedpainter”, which had orchestrated importation of the shipment.

Messages showed he was also responsible for a separate delivery of 11kg of cocaine seized from a shipping container stored at London Gateway days after the first raid.

Galea, of Hillcrest Road, Toot Hill, Essex, was the head of the gang, organising importation through contacts in South America and coordinating the group.

Swain, 46, of Princes Road, Gravesend, was found inside the lorry’s trailer as he supervised the removal of the drugs. He was a welder and used to build sophisticated hidden spaces within the floorspace of refrigerated containers.

He was jailed for 14 years and six months and two other men were each jailed for 11 years for their part in the operation.

Craig Howlett

A man told how his “evil” neighbour pulled a gun on him and threatened to “blow his baboon brains out” just because of the colour of his skin.

Dwayne Burrows, 62, relived the frightening encounter with racist Craig Howlett, who was caught on camera brandishing what turned out to be an imitation firearm.

Canterbury Crown Court heard Mr Burrows had been taking an early morning stroll to buy milk when he came under fire from an angry Howlett in the street when the foul-mouthed 56-year-old initially threatened to cut Mr Burrows’ throat and branded him a "black bloodclaat" - a Jamaican Patois term for blood cloth, or sanitary product, and often used in a similar manner to the F-word.

Mr Burrows, who is from Bermuda, challenged Howlett, but fearing his downstairs neighbour had a knife, hastily continued on his way to the supermarket, but as he made his way back home to Starle Close, Canterbury, just 10 minutes later, he was confronted for a second - and more sinister - time.

On this occasion Howlett pulled a gun out from behind his back and, pointing it at Mr Burrows, told him: "I'm going to blow your f***ing baboon brains out", the terrified victim then heard a clicking sound as Howlett repeated his chilling threat and subjected him to further racist abuse.

Jurors heard that somewhat bizarrely it was Howlett who dialled 999, falsely reporting that he was the one who had been threatened and once in custody he continued to point the finger of blame at Mr Burrows, and even referred to him as a "F***ing n*****."

Howlett, who has previous convictions dating back 23 years for offences including harassment, threats to kill, possessing an offensive weapon and malicious communication, was later charged and denied possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, making a threat to kill, and racially aggravated fear or provocation of violence but was found guilty of all charges.

Jailing Howlett for two years and three months, Recorder Vivian Walters said his racially motivated actions had "clearly" caused alarm and distress to his victim and a five-year restraining order was also made banning him from any contact with his neighbour.

Darryl Taylor

A paedophile swore "vengeance" on police in a series of abusive calls and texts after blaming them for being dumped by his first-ever girlfriend.

Darryl Taylor, from Westgate-on-Sea, phoned Kent Police demanding to know if officers had spoken to his partner about his previous offending and caused their split as a result.

He then began spouting threats at the call handler, including: "Kill police, f**k police. They have ruined my life,” and the former Wetherspoon kitchen worker, who was convicted of child abuse image offences in 2013 and 2020, also sent messages to his supervising officer branding her “F***ing scum" before adding: "I hope all you police die."

But a judge bluntly told the "self-absorbed and deluded" 35-year-old the only one ruining his life was himself as Canterbury Crown Court heard Taylor was under the watchful eye of the police’s Violent and Sex Offenders' Register (ViSOR) monitoring team following his first conviction almost 11 years ago.

On that occasion he was made subject to indefinite sex offender notification requirements and a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and among its conditions was a ban on having any history-deleting software on internet-enabled devices. He was also required to notify police of addresses, phones and bank cards he owned, but following a visit to his home in December 2022 by his ViSOR manager, he revealed he was in a relationship with a woman who lived locally.

However, on being reminded of the legal requirement to inform police if he stayed at any address for a given period of time, Taylor reacted "angrily and aggressively", and six days later he called Kent Police and stated he wanted to know if contact had been made with the female and which had caused her to break up with him and he then threatened to kill officers and just three days later his offender manager received seven abusive texts from him on her work phone and said she was scum an that he hoped all police would die.

Taylor, of Westgate Bay Avenue, was arrested and pleaded guilty to sending malicious communications.

However, while on court bail awaiting sentence, he twice refused to complete his annual sex offender notification and he was arrested.

When his phone was examined police found it had an in-browser deleting app and when he was released on bail again, during another visit to his home in September last year, two phones and two bank cards which had not been disclosed were also discovered.

Taylor later admitted five breaches of the SHPO and two breaches of notification requirements and the court heard his previous conviction in January 2020 was for another SHPO breach, as well as nine offences of possessing indecent images of children Judge Simon James, jailed him for two years.

Wayne Unstead

An "angry and jealous" police worker who was caught on camera twice trying to mow down his love rival was locked up.

Wayne Unstead, who worked with the Metropolitan Police dog handling unit, deliberately lined up his Seat car and "used it as a weapon" when he accelerated at Stephen Knight.

The horrific incident, which left a child in the victim's car traumatised and was captured on CCTV, occurred in South Street, Canterbury, on September 5, 2022 and in what was said to be a chance encounter, the 47-year-old had spotted his girlfriend Charlene Woodley in a car with her former partner, Mr Knight.

An irate Unstead "screamed to a halt" in front of their vehicle, got out and repeatedly punched the ex through a passenger window, shouting abuse.

He then got back behind the wheel of his Seat and, with Mr Knight now in the street, accelerated towards him and Canterbury Crown Court heard Mr Knight managed to avoid being knocked down, only for an undeterred Unstead to reverse and, with his engine revving and wheels spinning, drive at him for a second time.

This time Mr Knight was struck in the leg and he went over the bonnet and fell into the road where he skidded along the surface and Unstead sped off, but he was arrested the next day, gave a 'no comment interview' and later denied attempting to cause Mr Knight grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving.

However, in December last year on the day he was due to stand trial Unstead, of Marley Lane, Hoath, Canterbury, pleaded guilty to both offences and was remanded in custody.

When he appeared via prison video link for sentencing, the judge was urged to take an exceptional course and spare him any more time behind bars and said that Unstead's "moment of utter madness" arose out of concerns for his girlfriend's welfare.

Neil Ross, defending told the court that his time in prison had been "horrendous" and, due to the nature of his career and publicity about the case, he had had to be housed on the jail's wing for vulnerable inmates, but on jailing the former police worker for more than three years, the judge said that although there may have been "a misguided attempt" to protect Ms Woodley, "nothing justified" what he had done.

Deborah Powell

A woman harassed her neighbours by repeatedly ringing their doorbell, smashing a glass pane and emptying her wheelie bin onto their driveway in a noise dispute.

In what a judge described as a “sorry episode”, Deborah Powell was said to be frustrated by the couple who lived directly opposite the home she shared with her ailing mother in Canterbury.

In one ill-tempered outburst, the 47-year-old branded the man and woman “t**ts, w***ers and a***holes”, before adding they had “no right to be here” and even interrupted 30th birthday celebrations being held at their house to complain about fireworks and then branded them racists for their apparent lack of “white guests”, Canterbury Crown Court was told.

Her behaviour was said to be so distressing that the couple eventually moved out to live with a relative and Powell later admitted offences of racially aggravated stalking, common assault and assault on an emergency worker.

At her sentencing hearing, Judge Simon James said although he did not want to undermine the “adverse” impact of being harassed by a neighbour, the case required “a degree of perspective”, and Powell was supported in court by a number of people, including her brother and a retired church minister who had provided what was described as a “very helpful” letter.

However, she had to be warned not to interrupt proceedings after she shouted from the dock “they’re lying” as the account given by her neighbours to police was heard and the court was also told issues with their neighbour began in February last year when she told them she was “unhappy” about the noise being made by their builders and a tree being cut down.

Powell also claimed the workmen were staring at her and her bed-bound mother, and wrote a letter in which she said the dust was a risk to her mother’s health. She also moaned to the man about the “quality” of his parking and why he had two cars and two days later the couple were asleep when they were woken at about 1am by the sound of smashing glass in their front door and saw the defendant had hammered on the door so hard it shattered.

Imposing a 24-week prison term which meant Powell was to be immediately released from custody, Judge James said her mental health issues, as well as the struggle of dealing with the loss of her father and caring for her mother at the time of the offending, were “well-documented” in court papers.

Judge James said a two-year restraining order would provide her victims, who have not returned to their home, with ongoing protection.

Frankie Whittington

A thug who attempted to steal from stores using a meat cleaver and machete to threaten his victims was jailed for more than eight years.

Frankie Whittington targeted properties in Gravesend and Strood on three occasions but left empty-handed each time.

On November 21, 2022, he ran into the shop in Darnley Road, Gravesend, holding the knife out in front of an employee and the 23-year-old demanded money but soon left empty-handed when the victim called his dog to defend him.

Three days later, Whittington targeted a house in Smith Street, Strood where he violently kicked down the door and once again, used a meat cleaver to threaten the occupant, and again, demanded money but left quickly once he was told the police were on their way, a getaway driver, Younis Farjani, was waiting outside and drove Whittington from the area.

On November 30, Whittington broke into a house in Darnley Road in Strood, this time threatening the residents with a machete and baseball bat but again, left empty-handed and police carried out an investigation and were able to link Wittington to the incidents.

CCTV was also recovered which showed him with identical clothing to the items he had worn during one of the robberies and he was later charged with two counts of attempted robbery and one count of aggravated burglary with intent.

Investigators also identified that Younis Farjani was the driver at the incident in Smith Street, Strood and he was arrested and charged with attempted robbery and Whittington, of no fixed address, admitted all the indictments at Maidstone Crown Court and was was sentenced to eight years and three months imprisonment.

Farjani, of Rushdean Road, Strood, was convicted of attempted robbery following a trial an the 22-year-old was sentenced on the same day as Whittington to three years in prison.

Bradley Cooper

A racist thug sank his teeth into a stranger’s testicles “with extreme force” before claiming to have Aids.

Canterbury Crown Court heard that Bradley Cooper’s savage attack in front of horrified shoppers left the victim - who owns a nearby barber’s salon - bleeding and needing stitches.

The businessman had earlier come under fire from Cooper when he had stepped in to stop the yob abusing a young man outside his shop in Folkestone, and in return for his spirited actions, the Good Samaritan was himself subjected to racially-offensive language from both Cooper and his female companion before being spat at.

But two days later he was targeted more violently by the 38-year-old as he walked along Sandgate Road, when a bare-chested and swearing Cooper floored the barber with a punch, grabbed his legs as he lay in the street and then bit him, leaving blood soaking through his clothing.

The victim later told police that his attacker “held on for some time” and he feared he had suffered a life-changing injury and the court heard he had also been jumped on, punched and scratched by Cooper’s female friend and the police were called and the pair were arrested but Cooper continued to behave abusively, branding a police officer a “pig” and a “fat ****”, claiming to have the HIV virus and then spitting repeatedly at patrol vehicles.

At the time he was under investigation for assaulting and racially abusing a British Transport Police officer at Margate railway station and Cooper, of Langhorne Gardens, Folkestone, later admitted wounding, racially aggravated common assault, criminal damage, assault on an emergency worker and racially aggravated harassment.

The court was told the woman arrested with him was “awaiting a charging decision” and also heard six months earlier, Cooper had assaulted the BTP officer by ripping off his uniform epaulette and damaging an earpiece wire after being challenged about travelling on a train without a ticket and branded him “a foreign ****” and threatened “I’ll f*** you up.”

At Cooper’s sentencing hearing defence lawyer John Barker said while diagnoses of Tourette’s, ADHD and an emotionally unstable personality disorder could not be blamed for his offending, they did provide an explanation, but Cooper was jailed for a total of two years and eight months and was also handed a five-year restraining order banning him from contacting his victim or going to his shop.

Robert Watson

A debt-ridden dad stole an “irreplaceable” church lectern worth thousands before hacking it from its plinth to be sold as scrap.

Robert Watson and an unidentified accomplice left worshippers at St John the Evangelist Church in Kingsdown, near Deal, "in anguish and sadness" after swiping the historical artefact.

One branded the theft of the ornately-decorated relic, which had been gifted to the church more than 100 years ago, "a heinous act" and damage of more than £1,600 was also caused to the church's solid oak doors, as well as Victorian floor tiles from the apparent dragging of the 6ft tall brass lectern, which featured a winged eagle and was covered in semi-precious stones.

The court heard Watson's van was captured on CCTV pulling up outside the 19th century church in Upper Street at about midnight on May 2, 2022, and then left half-an-hour later with a passenger and in that time, the church door lock was smashed, a bible stand knocked over, tiles smashed and scuffed, and the heavy lectern itself ripped from its base before being hauled along the floor and into the waiting van.

The break-in was discovered later that morning and 27-year-old Watson, from Dover, was arrested the next day in his vehicle and inside was the lectern's wooden plinth and a hacksaw bearing traces of a brass-like substance.

Police also discovered that Watson's van tracker had been disabled two months earlier, and that his phone had "a complete lack of data activity" during the time of the burglary, compared to activity every two minutes or so both before and after.

Watson gave two 'No comment' interviews and did not assist police in either tracking down the missing lectern or even acknowledging others were involved, and he later admitted burglary and at his sentencing hearing the significant impact of the theft was described in victim personal statements, including one from the Revd Carolyn Wood.

But on urging the court to impose a suspended sentence, Mr Brand said Watson, of Tower Hamlets Road, had behaved "highly out of character" at a time when he was struggling financially, but on jailing the thief for 12 months, Judge Simon James said there were some offences "just too serious" to warrant anything other than immediate imprisonment.

Frederick Mansfield

A lorry driver was jailed after he veered off the road and crashed into a bus stop, killing a “bright, playful and considerate” teenager.

Logan Finch was just 14 when he was pronounced dead at the scene of the tragic accident which also left his aunt in a wheelchair for life.

The driver of the vehicle, Frederick Mansfield, from Hythe, was unharmed in the collision but was been sentenced to seven years in jail for causing death by dangerous driving.

Logan was on his way to have his hair cut when the crash occurred on December 21, 2021 in Blackheath, south east London and at Mansfield’s trial prosecutor Rupert Kent told the jury the teenager was waiting for the 321 bus with his aunt, Rachel Poole, two of his cousins and a friend.

He said: “Without any warning at all, the defendant’s vehicle moved straight at this group, it came at them at some speed and it initially collided with a lamp post, it then collided with the bus stop causing some damage to it and in the process it hit Logan, it hit Rachel and it hit Rachel’s nine-year-old son.”

When the lorry came to a halt at 3.33pm, Logan was pinned between it and the bus stop and was pronounced dead a short time later and Ms Poole’s 9-year-old was not hurt, but she was knocked to the ground, causing catastrophic injuries to her legs and chest which will see her wheelchair-bound for the rest of her life.

Mansfield was driving from central London back to his home in Imperial Gardens, when he veered off the A20 Eltham Road, causing the deadly collision and in conversations with police, the 43-year-old gave differing accounts of the moment before he left the road.

During a formal police interview the next day, the father-of-two said he could not recall how it happened, but thought he may have blacked out and pressed the wrong pedal and then when interviewed again five months later he blamed the crash on his previously undiagnosed sleep apnoea, but Mansfield was charged with causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving and was found guilty at trial and at a sentencing hearing he was jailed for seven years and disqualified from driving for six-and-a-half years.

Aaron Henderson

A thug spared jail last year for a three-day attack on his ex-girlfriend returned to her Ashford home to subject her to another terrifying ordeal.

Aaron Henderson, who also uses the spelling Aarran, had been told by a judge in September that rehabilitation was "the only way" to provide public protection from his violent outbursts.

He was also handed a 15-year restraining order banning contact with the woman, with whom he was said to have shared a "toxic, 13-year relationship", but Canterbury Crown Court heard how just weeks later the 46-year-old threw away that chance given to him in the form of a suspended sentence to launch yet another vicious assault on her.

His victim has now been left so scared of his beatings that she fears she will one day end up as "just another statistic" and the court was told the woman was asleep at home when she woke in the early hours of November 28 to find Henderson standing over her.

He told her to "Ssh" before becoming emotional and irate and telling her to stab him because he wanted to die, but when she refused he started to strike her in the face and in her desperate struggle, she grabbed a wine bottle and hit him, causing a cut and forcing him to stop, but then Henderson unleashed further violence as the woman tended to his bleeding head with a towel and continued to assault her, got on top of her and repeatedly punched her to the face, before suddenly leaving.

She suffered quite severe black eyes and bruising to her body and sought hospital treatment, but on her return home she was greeted by a gift bag left on her doormat which had a handwritten note from Henderson in which he proposed marriage and asked her to "promise to love him forever", the court was told.

But less than a fortnight later, he turned up on her doorstep again, the woman was not home, but he cried as he told her father that he needed to speak to her because he loved her and the police were called and Henderson fled over a roof and neighbouring fences and when he was finally arrested, he told police he was waiting for his ex to "come home".

Henderson, of Chester Road, Ilford in Essex, later pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm and two breaches of a restraining order, a charge of burglary was left on file ad he also admitted breaching the 17-month suspended jail term imposed for three previous assaults in which he punched and spat at the same victim and the court heard he had 40 previous convictions for 82 offences before he was jailed for a total of three years and 10 months and a restraining order imposed at his previous sentencing hearing remains in force and is not expected to expire until September 2038.

Rhys McGown

A topless thug who threatened a supermarket worker with a brick and fled with the stolen cash while wearing just black and white shorts, was jailed.

Rhys McGown entered a shop in Lonsdale Drive, Rainham on June 24 last year with his face concealed with a t-shirt.

Despite leaving the premises, the 29-year-old returned ten minutes later holding a brick before following an employee behind the counter.

McGown, of Napier Road, Gillingham, then demanded cash from the till and the victim, who feared for his safety, handed him £200.

The robber then ran from the store and the police were alerted to the incident.

Officers later examined CCTV at the store and an appeal was issued which included an image of the suspect.

However, McGown attended Medway Police Station and handed himself in on July 1.

He was later charged with robbery which he plead guilty to and he was jaile for a year and four months at Maidstone Crown Court.

James King

A bus driver stole his grieving mother’s life savings as she mourned the death of her husband.

Widow Kathleen King had turned to her son James, 36, for help after contracting Covid, but the devious drug addict stole £30,000 from her account as she slept.

The money was part of the £65,000 legacy Mrs King received following the death of her husband after the pair had “scrimped and saved” during their marriage.

Prosecutor Ellie Sheahan told Maidstone Crown Court Mrs King discovered the money had gone when her bank revealed she was in debt and said King had been living elsewhere at the time of her husband’s death but then stayed with him to help her get items and she would withdraw money to give to him.

Ms Sheahan explained how Mrs King contracted Covid in June 2020 and in July the following year she received a text message from her bank stating that she had been unable to pay all of her bills for the month, as statements shows she was £2,500 overdrawn.

There were 313 unauthorised debit card transactions on the account with a loss of £27,030.17, the money has been reimbursed to her by the bank, but discovering her son had stolen the money was “devastating”, for her, the court heard.

James King, of Alex Hughes Close, Snodland, was jailed for 45 months after admitting fraud, and possessing Class A drugs in a separate incident in 2021.

Judge Robert Lazarus told him his actions had a considerable impact on his mother who had now asked for a restraining order prohibiting the fraudster from contacting her for five years.

A former landlord told how his life running the pub he called home was “destroyed” by three drunken customers who broke his arm in a shocking attack.

Barry Holmes, 78, who ran Lesters in Margate, had to undergo surgery and was left so profoundly affected by the brutal assault that he and his wife Susan called time on their 13-year tenancy.

Having lived above the pub, it meant the devoted couple - who have been together for 45 years - also had to find a new home and a judge at Canterbury Crown Court told the men responsible for the attack - George Cooper, Simon Brockhouse and Taylor Porter - that the need to both protect pub landlords and deter others from such violence meant immediate imprisonment could not be avoided and speaking to KentOnline after the trio were jailed, Mr Holmes said: "Our pub was our home but they came in and destroyed it.”

The "boisterous and aggressive" trio from Margate had been boozing for several hours in Lesters when Mr Holmes, then aged 75, came under attack after he asked them to stop swearing, but a drink was hurled at him across the bar before he was subjected to a barrage of blows from fists and even a chair.

At one point in the five-minute fracas the licensee was hit so hard he went flying backwards and struck his head against a wall skirting and Mrs Holmes was also pushed and shoved by the marauding thugs, along with other customers who tried to intervene.

One described the incident as "horrific" while another said she felt helpless as she watched such "disgraceful and disgusting" behaviour and Cooper, 25, Porter, 25 and Brockhouse, 26, were arrested just a few hours after the brawl on April 2, 2022, and were later charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm.

They denied this but admitted the less serious offence of affray - a plea accepted by the prosecution in December last year, and at the sentencing hearing, scaffolder Brockhouse wept and Cooper, who is a full-time carer for his aunt, shook his head as they were all locked up.

Porter, a groundworker who recently became a dad, remained impassive in the dock throughout proceedings and he was jailed for 14 months, and his co-defendants were locked up for 10 months each.