A man accused of breaching a restraining order almost immediately after it was imposed and a gambling addict who stole more than £25,000 from an 86-year-old are among those to be jailed this week.

Clair Ransome

The 37-year-old gambling addict was jailed for 14 months after she stole more than £25,000 from an 86-year-old woman she had befriended.

Her arrest came after an Ipswich postman become concerned after seeing Ransome coming out of a shop with scratch cards, which she’d been buying in “significant” quantities.

Jailing Ransome, Judge David Pugh described Robert Speakman as a “knight in shining armour” and said he had gone far beyond his ordinary duties to ensure the elderly victim was protected.

Awarding Mr Speakman a £350 High Sheriff’s award, Judge David Pugh said Ransome’s dishonesty might not have been discovered if it hadn’t been for his careful observations and actions.

“He truly was a knight in shining armour,” said the judge, who asked for his comments to be passed on to Mr Speakman’s employer.

Ransome, of Hawke Road, Ipswich, admitted stealing £25,286 from the victim between October 2019 and July 2020.

Jah-mal Ohene-Darko

The 27-year-old was jailed for six years after being convicted of county lines drug offences in Ipswich.

Ohene-Darko, of Watling Gardens, London, appeared before Ipswich Crown Court on Friday, November 26 and was jailed for 71 months after pleading guilty.

It follows an incident on June 4 this year when police went to make a welfare check on an individual at a property in Bond Street, Ipswich.

The door was not answered, and officers used a key to get inside where they found two men.

Both were searched and a large quantity of cash and three mobile phones were found.

Ohene-Darko was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of drugs and taken to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre for questioning.

He was subsequently charged with being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin.

Detectives established the phones they had seized were being used to run a county lines drug dealing operation with links to London.

Richard Nash

The 36-year-old man from Lowestoft was jailed for 30 months after he was accused of breaching a restraining order almost immediately after it was imposed.

Nash, of Victoria Terrace, Lowestoft, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday, November 26, where he admitted acting in breach of a restraining order on June 30.

The court heard that the restraining order was made as part of a suspended sentence order on June 30 and the alleged breach happened shortly after the sentencing hearing.

Nash denied an offence of witness intimidation and this was ordered to left on the court file.

Judge David Pugh jailed Nash for 10 months with 20 months to be served consecutively for breaching the suspended prison sentence made on June 30.

“The breach was made within an hour of the order being imposed. Under these circumstances it can’t be said to be unjust to activate it in whole,” said the judge.