Bolton Magistrates' Court is not a happy place.
For most people, having to go there can be an intimating, confusing and extremely stressful experience.
Every criminal offence in the borough comes through this court, some will be passed on to the higher crown court while others - everything from common assault to unpaid parking tickets - will be decided right here.
Cases in magistrates court are dealt with, unsurprisingly, by magistrates. They are people who volunteer to judge offences that have involved people living their community.
Magistrates usually come in threes and, although they are given some training, they are accompanied by a legal expert who explains what punishments they can and cannot impose for a particular crime.
Criminals who are sentenced in this court can be given a maximum of six months in prison, to receive a longer sentence they have to be sent on to crown court.
Sentenced for begging
On Monday, March 16, David Monks was summoned before Bolton's magistrates.
He was caught begging in front of shops in the town centre after violating a recent public-space protection order (PSPO) imposed by Bolton Council.
This was not the first time the 44-year-old had appeared in court. In fact, he has a number of previous convictions and he had been banned from going into high street shops after being caught stealing.
He struggles with mental health issues and addiction and he spent a long time living on the streets before recently moving into a flat on Garside Street.
He was seen by the council's enforcement officers sat on the pavement with a paper cup in front of him on December 3 last year. Despite being arrested and charged with violating the order, he was spotted begging a further 31 times in the following weeks.
When presented with the charges in court, Monks did not complain or try to defend himself and he freely admitted to breaching the PSPO.
Standing in the court wearing a well-worn, old coat he told the magistrates: "I know it's wrong but I need to beg to get by."
He went on to explain that he is currently going to sessions at Bolton's drug and alcohol support service Achieve and is hoping to deal with his addiction problems.
He added: "I'm slowly trying to get myself into a better picture."
Monks already owed more than £1,200 in fines to the courts, which he pays back in £20 instalments each month, and he had already been punished for begging on a previous occasion.
This created a complicated situation for the magistrates who have to impose a punishment.
In the end, he was handed a new £100 fine, which will be added to the money he already owes.
As he announced the sentence, magistrate Manu Mistry told Monks: "There's help out there and I'm glad you say you're seeing Achieve and people like that.
"But, if you don't take the help from them you're going to end up back here."
He added: "Every time you end up here it's going to get worse and worse."
Illegal cigarettes
Next on the list is the case of St Helens Wines, a shop where the council's trading standards team found a stash of illegal cigarettes.
The small off-licence, found on St Helens Road, Bolton, is owned by Jamil Nasrou, who was only able to come to the start of his hearing due to a family bereavement.
He has owned the shop for a number of years but when it was raided by council officers in March 2019, they found 126 boxes of cigarettes and one packet of rolling tobacco, all without proper labels and not legal for sale in the UK.
In this case, it is the business which is being tried rather than Mr Nasrou himself which means any punishments will have to be financial.
The situation has already led to the shop losing its premises license, meaning that it will no longer be able to operate as an off-licence.
Mr Nasrou said he showed the council a letter proving that he was not in charge of the shop at the time of the raid and that a man named Mr Hassan was running the business with a view to taking over at a later date.
The 45-year-old also said he would only visit occasionally to check on the place and speak to staff.
Defending him, Victoria Camille told the magistrates that her client knew that the cigarettes and tobacco should not have been there.
She said: "He accepts that he's taken his eye off the ball and left staff in charge and he's now trying to sell the business."
Despite Mr Nasrou's efforts to sell the company he was still held responsible for the offences committed while he was in charge.
As a result, St Helens Wines was handed a fine of £1,500 along with extra costs taking the whole charge up to £2,150.
Banned from football
One of the final cases that went before magistrates on Monday was a football banning order.
Jordan Johnson was brought before the court after his involvement in two separate violent incidents that happened while he was following Bolton Wanderers.
It is the second time the 27-year-old has been subject to this sort of ban.
The order was sought by Greater Manchester Police who believe that this could help to stop some violence related to football.
Police prosecutor Mr Kemp explained that Johnson had been part of a brawl at a pub in Wigan following a game against Bolton in December 2018.
He was among a group of Wanderers fans who came through the back entrance of the pub and attacked rival supporters.
On that occasion, Johnson had not been a major part of the violence, so it was not until he was involved in a second incident that police decided to try and have him banned from games.
The second offence came following a game between Tranmere and Bolton in August last year.
"There was an incident in the car park of the Preston public house in Tranmere," Mr Kemp explained.
"On this occasion, Johnson has struck a male and there is blood coming down his face."
Later in the day at a Tesco near the pub, Johson was involved in another fight, this time hitting another man.
Standing in the court room in a suit, the young man said he would not contest the banning order.
He was handed a ban of four years, meaning he cannot go to any city where either Bolton Wanderers or the England national team are playing on the day that a game takes place.
He also cannot go within one mile of the University of Bolton Stadium or into Bolton town centre for four hours before or six hours after a game has taken place.
At the end of the hearing, Johnson was handed a map, showing him the areas he will not be able to go into for the next four years.
