A HOMELESS Carlisle man with a history of deliberately getting himself arrested so he has somewhere to stay has had his wish granted again, ensuring he will spend the festive period behind bars.

Andrew Bell, 42, has now breached the criminal behaviour order designed to curb his bad behaviour 179 times.

The city's Rickergate Magistrates' Court heard that one part of the order - imposed on him in 2017 - states that he must not attend The Cumberland Infirmary in the city unless he has an appointment, or unless he needs emergency treatment in the hospital's A&E Department.

Yet on Christmas Eve, at 11pm, he arrived at the hospital and told staff he was there because he wanted to be arrested.

Medical staff, who judged that he was medically fit, called the police.

But before officers arrived at the hospital, a nurse took pity on Bell and gave him some bedding.

When interviewed by the police, Bell told them that he had gone to the hospital because he had pains in his chest and throat. He claimed that a nurse had then told him he could sleep there in his sleeping bag.

She had not told him to leave the hospital, he said.

John Smith, for Bell, said: "He has been subject to criminal behaviour orders and Asbos for many, many years and he has breached them many times in recent years.

"He doesn't have an agreed address, gets sent to Durham Prison, gets released with nowhere to go, and then goes into the city centre to call police and tell them: 'Hello; I'm Andrew Bell, I'm in breach of my criminal behaviour order, so can you come and arrest me?"

In recent years, the police had been less keen to provide Bell with overnight accommodation, said Mr Smith.

"So he has tended to escalate his behaviour, telling the police that if they don't go to arrest him he will cause some damage and start making threats to people."

Bell was last released from prison on December 20 and the accommodation he was hoping to have at the city's John Street Hostel for homeless men was not immediately available. Bell had slept in a doorway, said Mr Smith.

Mr Smith said Bell insisted that he had not been told to leave the hospital but he put himself in breach of his order by remaining at the hospital after he was seen by medics. But there had been no bad behaviour, and nobody was caused any distress.

Magistrates jailed Bell for 10 weeks.