A jealous man smashed the window of a suspected love rival’s home – leaving a child terrified inside.
Thomas Donnellon, 43, rushed round to the man’s house over concerns he had been getting too friendly with his partner on 26 November last year.
Appearing at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (5 January), the defendant, of Carstairs Avenue, Park South, admitted two counts of criminal damage.
Prosecutor Tom Power told of how he’d smashed his suspected love rival’s door window, causing himself some nasty lacerations on his hand.
During the incident, a child was inside the property.
Following his arrest, he smeared blood that had been pouring from the wounds on his hand all over the police cell in the van.
As a result, the vehicle has to undergo specialist deep cleaning at a cost of £140.
Gordon Hotson, defending, said his client and his partner had been having relationship difficulties.
“[The difficulties] were exacerbated by the owner of the door being more friendly than he should be with Mr Donnellon’s partner”, he said.
Adding: “He went round to confront male and accepts smashed door in a rage having drunk alcohol and had not slept for several days.
“There was a child in the property at the time, but he was not aware of that. He was horrified when it was raised in interview and accepts it would have been terrifying for the child.”
District Judge Joanna Dickens ordered Donnellon to pay a £250 fine and pay compensation to Wiltshire Police for £140. He must also pay a £34 victim surcharge.
“It must have been absolutely terrifying for the child, this is not really about the damage, it’s about the impact on the child involved”, Ms Dickens said.
“Blood is a huge biohazard and it takes all sorts of specialists tp clean it up.
“You’re too old to be going around accusing people of these things, it’s a young man’s situation.”
