A MAN from Rhyl has lost an appeal against his jail term, having been told he had “virtually nothing” to comply with the terms of his initial suspended sentence.

Terry Bownass-Lyons, 53, of Meredith Crescent, was sentenced to 20 weeks’ imprisonment at Llandudno Magistrates’ Court on Friday, November 3.

He was jailed for breaching a suspended sentence (20 weeks, suspended for 18 months) issued to him in May, for his original offence of common assault in October 2021.

At Caernarfon Crown Court today (December 1), an appeal against his suspended sentence being activated in full was refused.

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Prison for Rhyl man who did not comply with suspended sentence

Prosecuting, Richard Edwards told the court that, as part of the suspended sentence, Bownass-Lyons was ordered to complete 15 days’ rehabilitation activity requirements, a 35-session programme, and 160 hours’ unpaid work.

He breached the order in June when he failed to attend a programme session, the suspended sentence was subsequently activated in full on November 3.

Bownass-Lyons, Mr Edwards said, had so far completed no rehabilitation activity requirement days due to “poor engagement” and “changes in the probation practitioner”.

Of the 160 hours of unpaid work he was ordered to carry out, Bownass-Lyons had completed 10.16 of them.

Defending, Michael Whitty argued that his suspended sentence should have been allowed to continue, rather than it have been activated last month.

Or, if the court felt compelled to activate it, he said it “shouldn’t have activated the suspended sentence in full without any reduction, to reflect what had been achieved in the order hitherto”.

Mr Whitty said his client accepts he has found it difficult to carry out unpaid work, but said his health conditions have impacted him physically.

Bownass-Lyons was also said to have been deployed to clear a graveyard, not long after the loss of three close relatives.

He was said to have attended 32 out of 48 possible probation appointments so far.

Judge Timothy Petts, presiding over the hearing along with magistrates, dismissed the appeal.

“Since being given that (suspended sentence), you’ve done virtually nothing on the order,” Judge Petts told Bownass-Lyons.

He added: “While you may have turned up to two-thirds of your appointments, you haven’t actually got anything to show for it.

“This is fairly and squarely within the bracket of no, or low, level of compliance.

“Given the lack of engagement, given your attitude, and given probation have said you’re not suitable for further probation intervention, there’s absolutely no reason that we can consider it unjust to activate the order in full.”