Eight-month jail sentence for Blackhall man who breached restraining order

East Durham man George James Lumsden was sentenced to 32 weeks in jail when he appeared before Newcastle Magistrates’ Court.

Lumsden, 48, of Bird Street, Blackhall, had initially denied breaching an order imposed by South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court in October 2021 before changing his plea to guilty on the day he was due to stand trial.

The court heard he had attended an address in Sunderland in July of this year from which he was banned under the terms of the order.

Magistrates ruled they had no choice but to impose a jail sentence given the nature of the offence and the number of similar offences on his record.

Lumsden was also made subject to a further five-year restraining order which bans him from having any contact with a named victim except through a third party or official avenues.