A MAN who rowed with a probation officer because he was too tired to do his unpaid work has been jailed.

Pierre James Neufville, whose address was given as Norville Road, Southampton, said he had only managed a “two-hour sleep” the night before he was picked up to do community work at a school in July.

The 26-year-old, who was ordered to do the work after assaulting a traffic warden, told probation staff that he would not be working hard due to his lack of sleep.

During a hearing at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, the court heard how this led to a row with his supervisor.

Neufville was later caught smoking inside the school grounds, leading to a further verbal altercation with his supervisor.

Police were called and Neufville was later charged with failing to behave in an acceptable manner during unpaid work.

The court heard that Neufville, a father-of-two, already had a poor attendance record for his community work assignments.

However, defending Neufville, Leo Hall said that his client was doing well with his supervision order and was currently in employment at the Co-Op in Southampton.

He urged District Judge Greenfield not to give a custodial sentence, so Neufville could keep his job as a customer service assistant.

But the judge had little sympathy for Neufville, sentencing him to a 14-week prison spell.

Neufville, who looked visibly shocked as he was led away in handcuffs, will serve seven weeks.