A TV actor has been sentenced to 40 hours' community service after breaching a court order.

Craig Fitzpatrick, from BBC drama Waterloo Road, had been required to attend a police station regularly after he was convicted of assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

A warrant was issued for his arrest after he twice failed to appear at a police station and a court hearing to explain his absences.

The year-long community order was originally imposed at Tameside Magistrates Court last year after Fitzpatrick, 21, of Lane End Road, Burnage, admitted punching then-girlfriend Julie Owens during a row at their Audenshaw home.

But Fitzpatrick, who appears as on-screen yob Lewis Seddon in the Rochdale-based school drama, admitted missing two parole appointments in November and December without reasonable cause.

His defence solicitor Matthew Wallace blamed `poor diary keeping' for his client's failure to attend.

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