Shamed TV star's appeal refused
Jailed former TV newsreader Ashley Blake has now been refused permission to appeal against his sentence for assaulting a teenager.
The disgraced presenter was jailed for two years in September for hitting his victim in the face with a wooden pole. The former Midlands Today newsreader, who was sacked by the BBC following his conviction, immediately launched a bid to appeal the sentence through his legal team at Birmingham-based McGrath & Co.
But the Crown Prosecution Service today announced it had been given notification that the Royal Court of Justice had refused Blake's "leave to appeal."
Blake was not present for the decision, which was made by a single judge before the case was heard before the Court of Appeal in London.
CPS spokesman Vinny Bolina said today: "We can confirm that we've received notification that the leave to appeal against sentence has been refused."
The 40-year-old was found guilty at trial of unlawfully wounding 17-year-old Greg Jones and attempting to pervert the course of justice by throwing away the makeshift weapon. He was given two years for the wounding and six months for the second charge to run concurrently.
The attack happened following an 18th birthday party in January at the Sutton Coldfield bar owned at the time by Blake, the Place 2B in Chester Road, Boldmere.
Co-accused Stephen Sproule, aged 38 of Booths Farm Road, Great Barr got a total of 13 months after admitting actual bodily harm of another teenager on the same night.
