Hammer brandished in '˜frightening'street fight over child

A plumber from Meden Vale armed himself with a hammer during a '˜frightening' confrontation in the street with his ex-partner over their child, a court heard.
Nottingham Crown Court.Nottingham Crown Court.
Nottingham Crown Court.

Scott Harrison, 25, of Caunton Close, Meden Vale, near Mansfield, pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon and affray at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday.

The court heard that on October 4, 2014, Harrison had collected their young child from his ex-partner, but later texted her to ask why the child had a ‘slight bruise’ on the leg.

Harrison’s ex-partner and her new boyfriend drove to an address in Chesterfield where they were challenged by Harrison and an altercation ensued.

Sarah Knight, prosecuting, said: “The defendant appeared with a hammer. He said - ‘Here we go. Who are you then?’

“As the defendant was being pulled away he made threats along the lines of ‘I am going to kill you.’”

The court heard the child was taken away by Harrison’s ex-partner and the police arrived to arrest Harrison. He told police he had been put in a headlock and denied he had swung out with the hammer.

Two others were charged with common assault during the affray and were dealt with in a separate court.

Dominic Shelley, mitigating, said: “This occurred, undoubtedly fuelled by a couple of cans of beer and a relationship that fell apart. It happened during a highly-charged emotional time in their lives.”

The court heard the relationship had fallen apart in April of that year and that Harrison was of previous good character.

Since the incident he had started a relationship with someone else and they were expecting a child.

“If Your Honour can take an assurance from me,” said Mr Shelley. “We won’t see Mr Harrison again.”

Recorder Christopher Donnellan told Harrison: “You deliberately armed yourself with a hammer. You were the one who was aggressive and had to be restrained.

“You were the one who was causing the most fear. Not just by what you were doing but what you were saying.

“This was an incident in public and it was frightening for those involved. You need to learn how to cope with situations like this.”

Recorder Donnellan imposed a community order for 12 months on Harrison and ordered him to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and pay £500 costs. He also banned Harrison from directly contacting his ex-partner.

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