The following cases were heard at Reading and Slough Magistrates’ Courts: 

February 7

BILLY SILK, 30, of Nine Mile Ride, Finchampstead, admitted possession of eight wraps of cocaine, driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent, driving without insurance and driving without a licence in Finchampstead on December 27, 2021. Community order made. Requirement to take part in up to 24 rehabilitation activity days. Banned from driving for 18 months. Must pay £180 in fines and court fees. 

February 10

RAQUEL BROWN, 51, of The Ring, Bracknell, admitted two counts of assault, theft (namely stealing shoes and handbags worth £257.50 belonging to Marks and Spencers) and using threatening or abusive behaviour to cause alarm or distress in Bracknell on July 10, 2021. Community order made. Requirement to take part in up to 30 days of rehabilitation activities. Fined £50, must pay compensation of £50 and ordered to pay £180 in court fees. 

February 11

LUKE BOWRY, 33, of Forest Park, Bracknell, convicted of failing to stop after a road accident at BP Petrol Station on Bagshot Road, Bracknell and driving without insurance on September 9, 2020. Community order made. Requirement to take part in 30 days of rehabilitation activities and banned from driving for nine months. Must pay £95 in court fees. 
DANIEL POWELL, 34, of Edrich Grange, Crowthorne, convicted of travelling on a railway without having paid a fare in Reading on August 26, 2021. Fined £220, must pay compensation of £7.10, and ordered to pay £214 in court fees. 
 

A fundamental principle of justice is that it must be seen to be done. Open justice is acclaimed on a number of grounds: as a safeguard against judicial error, to assist the deterrent function of criminal trials and to permit the revelation of matters of interest.