South Shields woman spent 60 hours in custody despite committing no criminal offence

Emotional Carole Phillips, 60, wept in the dock throughout her short hearing as she agreed to be bound over to keep the peace for the token sum.

Phillips, of Wawn Street, Westoe, South Shields, was arrested in the early hours of Saturday, June 28, following a dispute with her sister.

Prosecutor Paul Anderson told magistrates in South Tyneside the defendant became aggressive when police turned up – and was arrested.

Her solicitor, David Forrester, said he had “no idea” why she had been kept in cells over the weekend and her case not heard sooner.

Phillips was handed tissues by court officials during a five-minute hearing at which she agreed to be bound over for £10 for a month.

She must only fork out the money if she falls foul of the law in that time and will not pay a penny if she remains crime-free.

Mr Anderson said: “She was arrested at 1am on Saturday. The police attended a dispute between two sisters.

“She became aggressive and was arrested for a breach of the peace. I don’t know why she wasn’t put before the court on Saturday.

“She’s spent the equivalent of five days in custody for something that you can only deal with by being bound over.”

Mr Forrester said he could not understand why Phillips had not been dealt with by a court sooner.

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He added: "Why she is still here, I have no idea at all. We used to deal with these cases fairly regularly.

“I don’t remember ever dealing with something quite like this. She’s had more punishment than she is ever going to get.”

For a breach of the peace, a suspect is arrested but not charged with any crime and it is not a criminal offence.

Mohammed Ismail, chair of the bench, told sobbing Phillips: “You’ve agreed to be bound over. It’s for one month and £10.

“That means that if you get into trouble in the next month, it’s £10, but if you don’t get into trouble, there’s nothing to pay.”

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