I READ the story about a burglar who had been handed a suspended prison sentence for breaking into a property on Duke Street.

The government reckons it costs £5,000 to put someone inside prison for just four weeks.

It’s not the courts that are making these sentences, it’s the judges or magistrates.

Now whilst I appreciate that taking the money will take 166 weeks to get back, it’s surely better that it is getting paid back whereas sending him to prison will cost much more and the taxpayer will not get anything back.

Closing the St Helens Courthouse is apparently a cost-cutting exercise, to save money, which you could argue is exactly what the sentence did.

Finally, everyone has the right to be represented in court.

This is still a good thing.

Mike, via sthelensstar.co.uk