A dad asked a judge for the chance to jet off to Florida for the ‘holiday of a lifetime’.

Lawyers for Thomas Frankham, 30, told Oxford Crown Court their client had booked the December holiday to Florida on the understanding he would have no longer be wearing a court-ordered electronic tag.

The tag – designed to check his sweat for evidence he’d drunk alcohol and imposed as part of a a 12 month community order in February – was never fitted, Judge Nigel Daly heard.

Frankham claimed he’d been told by his probation officer that the requirement he wear a tag would expire in early November regardless of whether or not it had ever been fitted.

Now, the probation service was said to have told Frankham he could not travel to the States. They planned to apply to the court to extend the period during which he’d have to wear a tag, the defendant’s lawyers claimed.

Judge Daly ordered the case was transferred to Guildford Crown Court. Frankham, who lives in Surrey, was monitored by probation officers based in the city.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on news@nqo.com or 01865 425 445.