Daventry Express reporter Amy Olive got a double result after she persuaded Northampton youth court to name a persistent Anti-Social Behaviour Order offender.
Olive, a trainee on the weekly, succeeded in winning the right to identify Jamie Wykes, 17, who received one of the first ASBOs in the county.
Her success went beyond the confines of the court. Over the past 12 months during quiet times in the court, she has spent her cigarette breaks talking to Wykes’s mother, Mandy Wilkins.
Related
The time was well spent as Olive got not only an exclusive interview with Wilkins after her son’s latest trial, but also pictures of him for publication.
Editor David Granger said: "The courts weren’t prepared to listen to reason or acknowledge precedent but Amy, together with colleagues, kept objecting in court every time he appeared.
"We made at least 20 representations to various magistrates and youth courts.
Content from our partners
"It was testament to Amy’s tenacity, legal knowledge and ability to foster contacts that we not only got to publish Wykes’s name and picture but got his mother’s side of the story as well."
Wykes is serving an 18-month prison sentence for various crimes, including the breaching of his ASBO.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
