I taught Frank Fernie (Letters, July 14) for several years when he was a student at Archbishop Holgate’s School.

While he may not have been a gifted mathematician, he was a thoughtful, good-humoured and mild-mannered pupil.

There can be no doubt that his actions on March 26 were foolish, dangerous and criminal and he certainly deserves punishment.

However, it seems perverse that his previous good character and promising future prospects were ignored by the court.

Here is a young man who has voluntarily given up huge amounts of his time for a range of worthy organisations, asking for no reward or return, and has repeatedly shown the qualities that society supposedly holds dear.

No doubt he would have gone on giving back to society in a way that would make David Cameron proud.

Yet when he behaves in a way that society, quite rightly, deems unacceptable, all the positive contributions he has made are ignored and he is punished far beyond the scope of his crime.

It is clear that Frank was acting out of character and that his true nature is one that benefits society in many ways. However, if this travesty is not overturned and he has to serve out his sentence, I wonder if he will be so willing to offer his services freely to others in future.

And if that is the case, everybody will have suffered because of this excessive and unjust sentence.

Tom Dodson, Parade Court, Heworth, York.