'You're a bunch of over-the-hill slappers': Outspoken judge's courtroom rant to three women robbers

Outspoken judge Timothy Nash made the remarks at Canterbury Crown Court as he sentenced the trio to three years jail each for drunkenly mugging a man for his wallet in the Kent city.

The judge has previously attracted attention for branding the Home Office "totally incompetent" over deportation and for dubbing Asbos "namby pamby".

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He spoke out again yesterday as Melanie Coombs, 39, Lorraine Hallett, 37, and Alison Raines, 41, were caged after they admitted robbing reveller James McCabe on January 19.

All three have lengthy criminal records and history of alcohol abuse.

Peter Forbes, defending Hallett, said she had drunk a bottle of sherry before deciding to mug Mr McCabe, who was a night out with his friends in the city.

Nicholas Jones, for Coombs, said the robbery had not been planned and she had just piled in on the spur of the moment.

Passing sentence Judge Nash told the trio: "Any local taxpayer in Kent has a right to be angry with each of you.

"You are all on benefits of some kind and instead of using that money to eat and clothe yourselves and pay for residence, you spend it on alcohol.

"And you create a far bigger burden than any of you would otherwise create on society.

You are not entirely responsible for your alcoholism and people who sell you alcohol must know that you are alcoholics and you are probably half inebriated when you buy it anyway.

"That doesn't excuse this offence. You took advantage of a vulnerable man, more vulnerable than you because he was completely intoxicated.

"And you were violent towards him, unnecessarily so, and the other two joined in with removing his property.

"It is a quite disgraceful offence and you all, influenced by alcohol, behaved like a bunch of over-the-hill slappers which is the picture that's portrayed by the CCTV."

Hallett and Coombs, both of Canterbury, and Raines, of Whitstable, will have 107 days taken from their sentences for time spent on remand.

A court source said after the hearing: "Judge Nash is well known for speaking his mind but no one has ever heard him come out with anything like this before."

A Canterbury cop added: "All these three are well on our radar, they are always getting drunk, wandering around causing trouble and leering at blokes."

A friend of the trio, speaking today at the homeless shelter near Canterbury East railway station, said: "They won't be happy at what the judge said.

"Mel's still in her 30s and none of them reckon they are over the hill. They might have let themselves go a bit but they still reckon they could pick up a fella given half a chance.

"But now they're inside there's not much chance of that."

In May last year Judge Nash launched a stinging attack on Anti Social Behaviour Orders as useless, when he was asked to slap one on 39-year-old George Moses, who repeatedly plagued the mergency services with nuisance 999 calls in Ramsgate, Kent.

Judge Nash told Canterbury Crown Court: "We live in this namby pamby state where everybody rushes to get Asbos. The latest figures show they are not anywhere near as successful as intended.

And in October the same year he branded the government's system of on the spot fines "stupidity in practice" whil jailing serial thief Ann Gilheany, 46, of Folkestone.

He spoke out after learning the serial pickpocket had previously been let off with an £80 on the spot fine despite more than 30 previous offences.

And in September 2006 he slammed the Home Office as "totally incompetent" after blunders left him powerless to sentence a Russian serial shoplifter recommended for deportation.

Judge Nash told crooked refugee Mohammed Gaparkhoev his sentence would be delayed because government officials failed to ensure he had attended an asylum hearing.

He told the crook: "Your fate is undecided because of our total incompetence. I find the whole thing astonishing. It's laughable."