NO matter how hard the day, one can always have a good laugh when reading the Adver and the latest patter of Swindon's top stand-up comedians the defending solicitors at Swindon Magistrates' Court.

They have some classic one-liners 'although the defendant has 150 convictions for shoplifting, m'lud, nicking this stuff from Tescos was totally out of character'.

Then, just when you think your ribs will crack from laughing, the straight man, or magistrate, pretends to believe him, saying that in view of the fact that the client is full of remorse at getting caught and has been drug free for the last five minutes, he will give him another conditional discharge on top of the other 10 to run concurrently. What a laugh.

John Utting

Westwood Road