Thursday 14 May 2009

Grandfather given community service for throwing hammer at abusive yobs who terrorised his neighbourhood


So after some chatting we decided to go with Joe's idea


A 'respectable' grandfather threw a hammer at a group of teenagers because he 'snapped' after enduring months of anti-social behaviour, a court heard today.
Trevor Perry lost his temper when a number of youngsters became 'aggressive and abusive' as he returned home from a family wedding in May last year.
The 61-year-old, who was with his wife and 12-year-old granddaughter, swung a hammer wrapped in a plastic bag, hitting 18-year-old Darren Turner and fracturing his elbow.
Defence lawyer Jonathan Gosling said: 'The background goes back many months which resulted in the defendant snapping.'
Birmingham Crown Court was told that Perry and his neighbours had suffered months of loud noise, graffiti, abuse and damage by youths in the area.
Mr Gosling said Perry, who works part-time delivering medicine to the elderly, was 'not looking for trouble' on May 20.
The court was told that Perry maintained the hammer was not his but had been thrown towards him by a member of the group, which he accepted was not Mr Turner.
Mr Gosling said: 'The defendant is not a troublemaker. He is 61 years of age and a respectable hard-working man who is retired and all he really wants is peace in his neighbourhood.'
Perry from Longbridge, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was sentenced to 80 hours unpaid community work.
He was also ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to Mr Turner who spent five weeks with his elbow in plaster following the incident.
Sentencing, Judge Richard Griffith-Jones said: 'It really is a shame to see a man like you in the dock of a Crown Court.
'I accept that your patience had been worn very thin by anti-social behaviour but by the time you are 61 you are expected to exercise rather more judgment about how you respond to it than getting out of the car to remonstrate when you have had a little bit to drink and losing your temper.'
The court was told that Mr Turner was 'simply a young man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time'.
Problems with anti-social behaviour in Longbridge began when a local community centre closed down, leaving youngsters with little entertainment.

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