E&S Comment: Gun-toting thug not too young to have committed the crime

But a crown court judge says he's too young and impressionable to be jailed for it.

At 17 he took what looked like a lethal weapon into a newsagent's shop and pointed it at the face of a hard-working woman, as her terrified seven-year-old daughter clung to her skirt.

It is thanks to the bravery of shopkeeper Ranvir Bassi that Phillips left empty handed. But now he walks free among decent people.

The law is very clear that anyone who carries a gun with intent should be locked away unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Stafford Crown Court Recorder Michael Elsom says that Phillips should have his sentence suspended and be punished by unpaid work and a curfew.

To all intents and purposes he has got away with it.

Where is the justice for brave Mrs Bassi? Where is the message to her little girl that the bad man who scared her and threatened her mummy has been punished? Where is the acknowledgement of the work of the police in gathering the evidence to identify Phillips as the robber, finding him and bringing him before the courts?

The only good thing about this sentence is that reporting restrictions that would normally prevent a minor being named have been lifted so we can tell you all about Jack Phillips and what he has done.

Laughably, his defence consists of a claim that Phillips did not persist in his threat and that it was all over in a short time.

Phillips is a walking threat to society.

Anyone capable of getting hold of a weapon, whether it could have been fired or not, and holding it in the face of another human being to demand what is not theirs is a threat.

A few more months down the line and he would have been classed as an adult, with all the rights and responsibilities that brings.

The court heard he was even bragging as video footage of him carrying out his wicked crime was published on the internet to try to track him down.

It is hard to imagine anyone more deserving of a custodial sentence than Jack Phillips.

The rise in suspended sentences has been one of the hallmarks of the Coalition Government.

If loading a shotgun and pointing it in the face of an innocent shopkeeper while her terrified child looks on does not merit a spell behind bars, what does? The law is an ass.

Ta-ra to funny mon Tommy Mundon

Even when he was forced to retire from stand up comedy due to his health, Tommy Mundon was able to see the funny side.

The king of Black Country comedy has passed away but his wonderful wit will never be forgotten.

"I'm now a stand-up comedian who can't stand up for long," he said of the Parkinson's disease that brought his decades of entertaining to a close.

Tommy was a treasure the Black Country was able to keep for itself.

The world's loss was our gain when Tommy was unable to join a tour of Canada with the Black Country Night Out because of his day job as a lorry driver for Dudley Council.

His accent and anecdotes made for a series of in-jokes that might have been lost on people who were not from around here but had his audiences roaring and rolling in the aisles.

"I remember when going topless on the beach meant you didn't wear a hanky on your head," he'd say about the good old days. He used his gift for inspiring laughter to help numerous worthy causes over the years. But above all else, we will remember Tommy Mundon for one very simple and precious thing: Ee med us loff. Ta-ra aer kid.