Ex-Celtic striker sent to jail for a reason

Former Celtic and Arsenal striker Anthony Stokes is behind bars for at least 30 days after handing himself into police in Scotland.

Stokes, 35, was sent to jail by magistrates on Friday morning, having absconded to Dublin from Scotland, where he was on bail awaiting sentencing over a barrage of text messages sent to his former partner. Stokes’ departure from Scotland, coinciding with his mother being ill, meant that he twice failed to present himself at a police station, in compliance with his bail conditions. He returned to Scotland on Thursday night, knowing that time in custody awaited him and handed himself in at Motherwell police station. He has pleaded guilty to sending offensive messages to ex-partner Eilidh Scott and her father and had been due for sentence at Hamilton Sheriff Court. But when Stokes appeared in court in handcuffs on Friday morning, Sheriff Diane Turner refused to extend his bail – instead remanding him into custody until next month, while background inquiry reports are prepared.

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