THE brother of a man being hunted by police tried to stop officers searching his house as he was 'sick to the back teeth' of them turning up, a court heard.

Paul Simpson, a father-of-four, including a new baby, stretched out his arms, making a physical barrier when police arrived and refused to let them in. He was subject to a suspended sentence at the time.

Burnley magistrates were told how Simpson was fed up of officers arriving at his family home in the town 'at all hours' looking for his brother, Ricky England, 22.

Simpson had ended up being arrested and locked up – on his 33rd birthday –and missed the celebrations his family had planned.

The defendant, of Cog Lane, Burnley, admitted obstructing police, on September 29. He was given a 12-month conditional discharge, with a £15 victim surcharge and must pay £85 costs. The bench extended the period of the suspended sentence by one month.