A 23-YEAR-old man who was banned from seeing his girlfriend by a restraining order was found in bed with her.

Blackburn magistrates heard Simon Raith had appeared in court a week earlier after a police officer saw the couple walking hand in hand down the road.

He was due to be recalled to prison for 28 days as a result of the first breach but the latest togetherness earned Raith a 16-week prison sentence.

Raith, of Wilfred Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty to breach of a restraining order in favour of Lisa Payton.

Eddie Harrison, prosecuting, said police were looking for Raith as a result of his prison recall on licence for a sentence imposed for an assault on Lisa Payton.

Mr Harrison said: “Officers went to her house at 1am and found the couple in bed together.

“Miss Payton indicated she still wanted the restraining order in place but accepted the defendant was in her bed with her consent.”

Deborah Morgan, defending, said Raith was surprised to hear Miss Payton wanted the restraining order to continue.

She said: “When he was released from prison in April she approached him and said she wanted the relationship to continue.

“They were in bed together when the police arrived, clearly with her consent.”

Miss Morgan said Raith was ‘surprised and disappointed’ to hear Miss Payton wanted the order to continue because he understood she had approached the courts to have it lifted.

She said: “She is the only girlfriend he has ever had and the bottom line is that he loves her.”