Dismissed as a deputy council leader, Tom Hollis has now been dealt another blow as a judge handed him his punishment on criminal charges. Hollis was sentenced at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on Thursday, October 13, after he was found guilty last month of harassing his former neighbours and of careless driving.
He received a community order for 12 months on the harassment charges, 200 hours of unpaid work in the community, and to pay £500 each compensation to his two former neighbours, a victim surcharge of £95 and costs of £1,000.
For the careless driving, the penalty was six points on his licence and a fine of £570. Judge Leo Pyle told him on the harassment charges, he had showed an arrogance and belief that somehow "you were far more important than your neighbours".
READ MORE: Live court updates as Councillor Tom Hollis is sentenced for harassment and careless driving
"To even contemplate writing to your neighbours on council-headed note paper frankly was an act that had to be aimed at intimidating those neighbours". The couple next door, who had a six-year-old daughter, had been too scared to venture into her garden - her play area. They later sold up, at a loss, the court was told.
Aged 29 and of Yew Tree Drive, Huthwaite, Hollis was dismissed as the deputy leader of Ashfield District Council following conviction after two trials in September. Once one of the youngest councillors in Britain, the court heard about a different side to the politician.
He harassed his former neighbours in Windmill Close, Sutton-in-Ashfield, in May 2020. As relations between him and the neighbours broke down, Hollis had "play-acted" in a 999 call as if he was being chased by one neighbour, Luke Golding, with a one-foot to a foot-and-half long knife - which never happened.
READ MORE: Councillor Tom Hollis convicted of harassing former neighbours
All charges were denied, but he was convicted on all, including the careless driving in a second trial which ended on Friday, September 23. Hollis, who had saved up for the Range Rover and had only been the owner of it for three months, was spotted by two police officers driving at speed after a night out at bingo.
One officer had stated, when he saw the car, which he said was travelling too fast, it was "bouncing all over the place".
Hollis refused to stop for police. But a judge concluded she could not be sure he would have deliberately driven his newly-bought 68-plate car backwards to cause a collision with an unmarked police vehicle after it followed him to a petrol station forecourt.
Despite his sentencing, a spokesperson for the Ashfield Independents, the party that controls Ashfield District Council, has confirmed that Tom Hollis will continue serving as an Ashfield councillor. The spokesperson said: "The court has made a judgement and Tom has accepted this and will now serve his sentence giving back to his community.
"The incidents were well over two years ago in a time of high pressure. Since then, Tom has matured and will now continue his job - serving his beloved communities of Carsic, Huthwaite and Sutton."
The Nottinghamshire County Council leader, Ben Bradley, previously said that the future of Tom Hollis at that council depended on how severe his sentence was. But the authority has now confirmed that given Mr Hollis' pledge not to resign, he will also continue serving at the county council.
A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire County Council said: "The sentence given to Councillor Tom Hollis does not meet the legal threshold for disqualification from office, which is a custodial sentence of 3 months or more, therefore he remains County Councillor for Sutton West."
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