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Kevin Fenlon

SITTING at Runcorn Magistrates' Court on Thursday morning, the overwhelming sensation was one of disbelief.

Not disbelief at the punishment handed out to a young man who police say has been a ringleader at the centre of trouble in east Warrington.

Kevin Fenlon's actions merit every day of the seven months he will now spend behind bars, and our community is certainly a safer place with him off the streets.

No, what was staggering was Fenlon's reaction to his sentence, and the behaviour of his family and friends in a court of law.

Led into court by a pair of dock officers, Fenlon grinned and waved to those who had come to hear his trial.

Smirking as the charges against him were read aloud, he displayed none of the remorse his defending barrister proffered in his name.

However, the worst was yet to come, as the trio of magistrates left the courtroom to consider his fate.

Laughing and joking from behind a glass screen, Fenlon shouted to the four people sitting in the public gallery.

They discussed the food he is eating in jail. "No KFC mate! Fish and chips on Friday."

The teenager's assertion that "All my mates are in prison, anyway" was perhaps the clearest indication of why even a jail sentence can seem a trifling matter to an 18-year-old yob.

But it was the smile Fenlon reserved for the Warrington Guardian's reporter and his suggestion for the headline on the front of today's paper, Family and friends laughing in court', that best illustrated his contempt for justice.

Either that or the final thumbs up' as he was led to his cell.

8:04am Thursday 27th March 2008

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