A CONVICTED robber who has twice returned to court for skipping probation appointments was spared prison – in part because the sobbing dad-of-two thanked the dock officer for handing him a tissue.

Daniel Lewis, now 26, was given an 18 month suspended sentence last summer for robbing a man of his jacket in the M&S car park in Banbury.

On Monday, Oxford Crown Court heard Lewis had twice been back in front of the judge for failing to comply with the requirements of that suspended sentence order.

READ MORE: Robber's done 30 minutes out of 155 hours of unpaid work, court told

Since last August, he had managed to complete just 30 minutes out of the 150 hours of unpaid work ordered by the judge who sentenced him.

More recently, he claimed to have been ill when he was meant to be speaking to the probation service – but failed to produce any medical evidence to prove it.

Lewis then skipped a court hearing earlier this month, ‘burying his head in the sand’ and celebrating his birthday instead.

On Monday, defence barrister Dana Bilan made what the judge praised as ‘eloquent’ submissions, asking for Lewis to be given a final chance.

She said dad-of-two Lewis suffered with a personality disorder and depression. He had been admitted to hospital previously in connection with his poor mental health.

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“This is a young man who has struggled for the best part – perhaps half – of his life, looking at his record, with his personality disorder, with his mental health and of course coupled with the alcohol it leads to him being back before the court again and again,” she said.

He had the support of his parents and would struggle to get mental health support during a short prison sentence, the court heard.

But what particularly impressed judge Recorder John Hardy QC was the fact Lewis said a simple thank you to the custody officer who handed him tissue after tissue as he cried in the dock.

READ MORE: Pair sentenced for M&S car park rampage

Sentencing him for the breach of the suspended sentence order, Recorder Hardy said: “I am just persuaded not least by the eloquent efforts of your defence barrister Ms Bilan that whilst my finger is on the trigger I should not fire the gun.”

He added: “I have to tell you, Mr Lewis, I am not quite sure how I have come to this conclusion.

“You at least had the courtesy to thank the dock officer for your copious quantity of Kleenex during the hearing and that indicates to me you are not an entirely hopeless case. A little thing like that goes a long way and it has gone in your favour this morning.”

He removed the unpaid work hours and replaced it with a 30 day alcohol abstinence tag.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward