Potless pervert purposely boarded Wakefield bus on his birthday to be sent back to prison

Neil Poundford was convicted of sexual assault on a bus in 2017 and has since been jailed numerous times for breaching an order preventing him from getting on public transport on his own. But for his latest breach he said he was homeless and had no money, with his next benefit payment still six days away.

He told the court he intentionally got on the Wakefield Free City Bus on March 17 to be arrested, which he subsequently was. Appearing at Leeds Crown Court via video link from HMP Doncaster, he refused legal help and represented himself.

He told the judge: “I don’t see the need (for legal assistance). It’s an open and shut case your honour, I’m here for you to sentence me.

"I’m the original Billy No Mates, I don’t have a friend in the world and there was nobody to turn to. I was six days from getting my credit and I had nothing to eat. It was the prospect of six days without food. It’s a shocking indictment but I couldn’t see any way out, apart from throwing myself in the river, and I didn’t want to do that.”

Poundford, who turned 64 on the day he breached his order, had previously been living on Manygates Lane in Wakefield. Judge Rodney Jameson KC jailed him for eight months.

He was first jailed for 16 months in August 2017 after he touched a 17-year-old’s face and arm on a bus between Wakefield and Dewsbury, then preyed on a 13-year-old girl at a bus stop in Horbury, two months later, touching her face and knee.

He was given a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) banning him from buses unless accompanied by a responsible adult. But has breached the order more than 16 times and has been jailed no fewer than 10 times as a result.

During a previous sentencing, he told a judge that he did not know any responsible adults and everyone he knew was irresponsible.