A SOUTH Warwickshire man ‘behaved disgracefully’ when his ex-partner turned up at his home to collect her bike, grabbing her by the throat, headbutting her and smashing her glasses.
And as she then drove away, William Wood hurled a rock at her car, smashing the rear window, Warwick Crown Court has heard.
The 31-year-old of Ashorne Hill, Ashorne, pleaded not guilty to assaulting Susan Forbes-Lee and damaging her glasses and car, but then changed his pleas to guilty.
He was given a six month prison sentence suspended for two years, and was ordered to pay £540 costs and to pay Miss Forbes-Lee a total of £1,627 in compensation.
Prosecutor Madhu Rai said Wood and Miss Forbes-Lee had been in a volatile relationship for about eight months before it ended in January this year.
But her bike was still at his home, so she drove there on January 16 to collect it and knocked on the door.
There was no reply, but as she walked back to her car,
She saw Wood walking down the drive towards her. He swore at her and threw a cup of soup over her, and when she said she was going to call the police, he grabbed her round the neck and started to shout abuse, squeezing tight and spitting in her face before pushing her back against her car.
He then headbutted her and grabbed her glasses which he snapped in two, dropped to the ground and stamped on them, before she pulled free and got into the car.
Miss Rai said before she arrived, Miss Forbes-Lee had called a friend and had kept the line open ‘for her safety,’ and on hearing what was happening, her friend told her to call the police, which she did.
Wood’s mother then turned up with the bike which was thrown towards the car, and as Miss Forbes-Lee drove off, the rear window of her car was smashed with a stone thrown by Wood.
When he was arrested, Wood, who had a previous conviction for battery, denied the incident and said it was ‘her fault.’
Andrew Fisher QC, defending, said after Miss Forbes-Lee had terminated the relationship, she had sent Wood messages of what she would like him to do with her, including sending him intimate images and videos.
Mr Fisher added: “He admits there was a scuffle and that he tried to push her back into the car, but says he did not intentionally headbutt her. He accepts he lost his temper and threw the bike down, and as she drove off he accepts he threw a stone at the car.
“It’s all very regrettable, and something of which he is not proud. All he can do is apologise.”
Recorder Gareth Evans QC told Wood he had “behaved disgracefully”.
He continued: “This is a woman who was haunting you and trying to get you back, and on this night managed to set you up.
“If it had stopped there, things would have been very different, but you took the bait and did use violence against her.
“She seems to have been reluctant to see the relationship end, but it did end, and it’s in everybody’s interest that it should end.”
And making a restraining order banning Wood from having any contact with Miss Forbes-Lee for five years, he added: “Keep away from her.”
