A gravely ill old man who was jailed after serving mince pies during the Coronavirus lockdown has suffered a heart attack in prison - a mere five days after being locked up.
Maurice Snelling, 72, was sentenced to six months behind bars after he was caught selling food and alcohol at a shooting club during the coronavirus lockdown, then deleting evidence to conceal his crimes.
While being the licence holder of Cloudside Shooting & Sporting Club, near Rushton Spencer, Staffordshire, he was found to be breaching Tier 3 Covid rules in 2020 and claimed he believed he was in Tier 2.
Since being jailed, the 72-year-old reportedly fell ill on November 13, and suffered a heart attack.
In a statement, the club confirmed Mr Snelling, of Cloudside, had been on the waiting list for a heart operation when he collapsed.
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They told Stoke On Trent Live: "We have been informed that Mr Maurice Snelling, aged 72, suffered a heart attack sometime on Sunday, 13th November 2022.
"Mr Snelling was imprisoned for six months after pleading guilty to 'perverting the course of justice' on 8th November 2022, following a case relating to breaching Tier 3 Covid rules in 2020, serving food and drink at Cloudside Shooting Grounds during the lockdown.
"Mr Snelling has had ongoing heart health issues and two previous heart attacks and was on a waiting list for a heart operation when convicted.
"Mr Snelling is to undergo heart surgery at an undisclosed hospital and is not allowed to receive any visitors. After recovering from surgery, Mr Snelling will be returned to prison to complete his sentence. The club has no further statement at this time."
Under the rules and regulations, venues during the Covid-19 lockdown were only allowed to operate takeaway, delivery and drive through services and customers were not permitted to consume food and drink on the premises.
However, Snelling claimed the club was in Tier 2, because it has a CW12 Cheshire postcode - despite actually being within Staffordshire.
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard Snelling also tried to destroy evidence to cover his trail and ignored both emailed and written requests by Staffordshire Police to review CCTV footage, which could prove his crimes.
But as the police closed in, Snelling reached out to CCTV contractors Welch Services to ask them to delete the footage of his lawbreaking.
Prosecutor Ben Lawrence said that he had been "angry and demanding", and the company felt uncomfortable and turned a copy over to the police instead.
During the court case Thomas Sherrington, mitigating, had warned that his client was in poor health and had suffered multiple heart attacks.
He added: “The prognosis is grim.”
However, Circuit Judge David Fletcher felt prison was the right option for the OAP, and in handing down the sentence, the Judge said: "This offence strikes at the heart of justice. [He is] anti-establishment, especially to the police.
"He doesn’t like being told what to do. He treated police with resentment."
- The headline and story have been amended to clarify that Maurice Snelling was jailed for perverting the course of justice.
