Six sentenced for public order incident in Burbage

Six men have been sentenced at court for their parts in a public order offence in Leicestershire and an arson in Essex.

At Leicester Crown Court yesterday (2 July), the men, all of Blaby Road, Enderby, were sentenced as follows:

• James Thompson, 23, who pleaded guilty to public order and arson, was sentenced to four years in prison
• Terence Maughan, 26, who pleaded guilty to public order and arson, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison
• Thomas Maughan, 30, who pleaded guilty to public order and arson, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison
• Christopher Collins, 24, who pleaded guilty to arson, was sentenced to four years in prison
• Simon Terence Maughan, 51, who pleaded guilty to public order, was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison
• Simon Martin Maughan, 25, who pleaded guilty to public order, was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison

The conviction relates to an investigation into two men being threatened in Lychgate Lane in Burbage on 10 April this year.

The group, with the exception of Collins, threatened the men with weapons before police were arrived at the scene.

Four days later on 14 April, Collins, Thompson, Terence Maughan and Thomas Maughan travelled down to Henham, Essex where they set fire to a caravan and barn causing over £100,000 worth of damage. The property was owned by the brother of one of the men assaulted in Burbage.

The police investigation led the gathering of evidence and the men were all arrested after enforcement was carried out by officers at their addresses in Blaby Road in May. They were later charged and remanded.

Superintendent Adam Slonecki, Counties Superintendent and Operational Policing Lead, said “We believe that the offences in Leicestershire and Essex were linked through the ongoing dispute the Maughan family had with the victims of the Lychgate Lane incident and that was reason they targeted the property in Essex.

“Fortunately the weapons seen in the Burbage incident were linked back to the group and alongside some excellent detective work and collaboration with Essex Police, only strengthened the case against the defendants leaving them little choice but to plead guilty.

“The enforcement operation was carried out as a result of some significant planning by detectives investigating the crimes and neighbourhood officers across the Hinckley and Blaby Neighbourhood Policing Area (NPA), those officers who know our communities best.

“I am extremely proud of the leadership, hard work and long hours that our officers and staff from both teams came together and put into achieving result. I hope that these shows our communities that we are committed to tackling such behaviour and will arrest and place those responsible before the courts to face punishment for their crimes.

“I am grateful for the support of our partners both at Blaby District council and Leicestershire County Council for their support, and we will continue to work with them to progress sustainable solutions for all the communities within Enderby.”