A STONEMASON who was spared jail for his part in a 'cowardly' piece of organised violence over a girl has been given another chance.

Matthew Dunn was given a suspended sentence after he drove a group of mates to the incident near the Melksham skate park in June 2014.

In the 18 months since he was put on the order the 26-year-old has turned up for fewer than half his supervision appointments with probation.

And having been punished for breaching the order once before he even signed a 'final warning contract' last October because he was missing so many meetings.

But after hearing that he was in work and now had stable accommodation a judge gave him a last chance and allowed the order to continue.

Tim Akers, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court that since sentence was passed in late August 2016 Dunn had attended just 61 of 127 appointments.

Though many of the absences were deemed acceptable by probation he said 20 were unacceptable and this year he did not turn up on January 24, February 7 and 14.

He said that the matter was first brought back before a judge in December 2016 for noncompliance, when he was put on a four week curfew as punishment.

Dunn, of Beanacre Road, Melksham, admitted failing to comply with the terms of a suspended sentence.

Ellen Macaw, defending, said although he had now breached the order twice he completed the 200 hours unpaid in the first year as well as the curfew.

She said he had been through a difficult time losing his accommodation, but was now back living with his dad and working as a trainee stonemason in Bradford on Avon.

Because he works long hours, she said he put his career before the order and so missed a number of appointments, but he had told his bosses and they will give him time off.

Passing sentence Judge Robert Pawson said "Mr Dunn, you have been really stupid.

"You have got a really good job, really skilled and you have put it all at risk because I should send you straight to prison.

"If you ask 100 people off the street what I should do to you, 99 would say 'Send him straight to prison'.

"I am not going to, it is lucky you have got Miss Macaw here, it is lucky you have got a job. I am going to curfew you for six weeks.

"You will also pay £100 costs. If you breach it again, Mr Dunn, you will just go straight to prison. I don't care how close it is to the end of the order."

Dunn was in a group of about 25 Melksham lads who were armed with weapons when they attacked a group from Chippenham in the Waitrose car park.

The violence, branded 'cowardly' by a judge erupted over a disagreement over a girlfriend.