Man fails to beat ban from town

A 25-year-old man has failed to overturn an Anti-social Behaviour Order (Asbo) issued in February banning him from Northampton town centre.

Jamie Cooke, of no fixed abode, was banned for aggressive begging, cutting himself in public and causing distress.

Cooke appealed in a test case at London's High Court on the grounds he suffered from mental illness.

But the court ruled that mental illness had no bearing on a person's suitability for an Asbo.

Cooke's barrister Hannah Mettam said a psychiatric nurse previously diagnosed him with an emotionally unstable personality disorder and possibly Asperger's syndrome.

She said: "He is effectively criminalised for his mental health disorder.

"It is simply impossible for him to comply with the terms."

Lord justice Dyson said the magistrates were right to conclude Cooke was capable of understanding the terms of the Asbo.