A PUBLIC house is NOT a home - according to magistrates - even if it does have a family living in a flat above the bar.

The bizarre definition was made by JPs sitting at Macclesfield who publicly defied a top prosecution lawyer who made representation to the contrary.

The bench concluded that the Crown Inn premises on Bond Street were commercial and not a "dwelling" under the 1968 Theft Act

The pub was plundered by a burglar while the landlord, his wife and their three children slept in their beds.

There was just a locked door and a staircase separating the intruder from the skumbering family - and even that had been forced.

But the judgement meant that the villain was certain to be treated less severely.

This week convicted burglar Lee Cotterell, who lives in Congleton, was free after magistrates accepted jurisdiction inspite of opposition from the CPS who wanted the defendant to be committed to Crown Court. The bench sentenced him to 100 hours community punishment and one year's community rehabilitation. He was ordered to pay £225 compensation.

The judgement to deal with the crime by an earlier bench in defiance of Crown representation has triggered off outrage among the legal fraternity.

And publicans targeted by villains are bound to feel more vulnerable.

After last week's case CPS spokesman Peter Frost said the department was "at a loss" as to why the bench accepted jurisdiction.

"The burglar actually tried the door and attempted to enter the flat," he said. "In essence it was an attempt to get into the living accommodation with the aggravating feature that it was at night.

"We have always said that these facts meant it should not have been tried at a magistrates court. Why they decided to deal with it, I just don't know."

Even Cotterell's own lawyer Robin Nightingale admitted his client had a lucky escape.

Earlier Chief Prosecutor Barry Hughes told the bench: "The Crown says this is effectively the burglary of a dwelling. The landlord and his wife live upstairs, and there were three children present."

One local landlord who has been repeatedly targeted by robbers while he and his family have slept in their living quarters was outraged by the leniency.

Peter Morrell, landlord of The Kingfisher in Poynton, who has had knives and guns pointed at him in the past, said: "If somebody is caught to send the right message out, it's crucial to see the maximum sentence passed.

"Magistrates do let us down. Criminals are getting away with murder all the time.

"I have friends in the trade who have never recovered from being robbed at gunpoint. It's the most terrifying experience imaginable."