A HEREFORD man has been handed a suspended sentence after a "deliberate breach" of his restraining order.

Christopher John Cunliffe appeared before magistrates in Cheltenham for sentencing in January after entering a guilty plea to one count of harassment by breach of a restraining order when he appeared magistrates at an earlier hearing in December.

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The court heard from the prosecutor that the 42-year-old had, without reasonable excuse, contacting a woman and entered a street in Cinderford which he was prohibited from doing by a restraining order imposed by magistrates in Cheltenham on August 11, 2022.

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Magistrates said the offence was serious as it was a deliberate breach, and it was the second breach of his order, but that they were not immediately sending him to custody in order to allow him to continue with rehabilitation.

Cunliffe, of The Pastures in Hereford, was handed a 10-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and a six-month exclusion requirement with electronic monitoring banning him from entering a street in Cinderford.

He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £154 victim surcharge.