A MAN from Llandudno was told his attitude must “improve immensely” after being spared jail despite breaching his suspended sentence.

Wayne King, 33, of Cae Mawr, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended for the same time period, on October 27, 2021.

But he appeared at Caernarfon Crown Court today (March 16) after failing to attend a pre-arranged probation appointment on January 19.

Prosecuting, Laura Knightly told the court that the probation service had not seen King in person since last November, and that there had “not been the compliance that probation would wish for”.

Ms Knightly added that King, a landscape gardener, also missed further appointments on January 26 and March 8.

“The issue is the continued lack of compliance and engagement with probation,” she said.

Defending, Thomas McLoughlin said that King’s absences were due to a “mixture of unfortunate circumstances”.

Mr McLoughlin said King had a “reasonable excuse” in that he was suffering from tonsilitis at the time, and had evidence from two GPs to support this claim.

Though, Mr McLoughlin added that his client accepted that he had failed to provide such evidence to probation.

“This, he tells me, is the reason he didn’t attend those January appointments,” he said.

“He doesn’t have an explanation as to why he didn’t provide evidence when he had it, save for the fact that he didn’t understand the position (he was in).”

From roughly November 2021 to October 2022, King was described as being “fully compliant”, having worked closely with a probation officer called Liam.

There was evidence of phone calls and WhatsApp messages with Liam, and King was believed to have been “eager to work” with him.

Things changed, Mr McLoughlin said, when “Liam suddenly stopped replying”.

King was said to have now recovered from his illness, and to be willing to re-engage with a new probation officer.

“It was not through a lack of trying, but a lack of understanding,” Mr McLoughlin added.

Sentencing, Judge Timothy Petts extended the operational period of King’s suspended sentence to two years.

King will pay a fine and costs to the Crown Prosecution Service of £100 each.

Judge Petts told King: “Your behaviour in not being seen face-to-face by probation for months now is unacceptable.

“You seem to be treating compliance with a court order and probation requirements as optional.

“You should be under no illusions: you are on your last chance.

“Your attitude needs to improve immensely over the next few months, otherwise you can expect to go inside.”