R v John Maughan

A defendant entitled to credit under section 240A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 must have the qualifying period counted as time served as part of the sentence. An omission to give that direction may be corrected on appeal. A sentence of imprisonment imposed on a person aged 20 is unlawful and must be quashed and replaced with a lawful sentence of detention in a young offender institution.

The appellant was sentenced at the Crown Court at Cambridge on 12 May 2025 for aggravated vehicle taking. He applied out of time for leave to appeal against sentence. It was agreed that he had spent 35 days on a qualifying curfew, giving entitlement to 18 days’ credit under section 240A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

The court also considered that the sentence had been wrongly pronounced as one of imprisonment although the appellant was aged 20, and that the period of driving disqualification required clarification. The central issues were whether the credit had to count as time served and what consequential corrections were required.

1. The court granted an extension of time and leave to appeal.
2. The appellant was entitled to 18 days’ credit for the 35 days spent on a qualifying curfew. Section 240A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 required the sentencing judge to direct that the credit period count as time served as part of the sentence. The omission had been overlooked. Since it was too late to apply to the sentencing judge under the slip rule, the Court of Appeal made the direction itself and allowed the appeal to that extent.
3. Because the appellant was aged 20 when sentenced, the sentence of imprisonment was unlawful. The court quashed it and substituted a sentence of 12 months’ detention in a young offender institution.
4. The court confirmed that the driving disqualification was for 18 months, comprising the statutory minimum of 12 months and a six-month extension.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) granted an extension of time and leave to appeal, allowed the appeal, directed that 18 days count as time served, quashed the unlawful sentence of imprisonment and substituted 12 months’ detention in a young offender institution: [2025] EWCA Crim 1302.
• Crown Court at Cambridge sentenced the appellant on 12 May 2025 for aggravated vehicle taking.