An ex-con who abducted a boy, 14, on a train has avoided jail time after a judge ruled his victim was ‘quite wild’ and would have suffered ‘minimal effect’.
Geoffrey Hirst, 48, was arrested after police spotted him boarding a train with the schoolboy.
When officers met the pair at Manchester Piccadilly Railway station, both smelt heavily of cannabis, police said.
A month earlier, Hirst had been warned to stay away from the boy – who cannot be named – amid fears he was allowing him to get involved with drugs. Read more