Sutton man smashed ex's car windows in 'a moment of madness'

Thomas Birch shouted “Where is she? “ as he broke the rear and hatchback windows of the car on Union Street, at around midnight, on March 31, while his ex hid in a nearby car.

“She was too scared to get out fearing that she would be beaten up,” said prosecutor Donna Fawcett.

“She described herself as being terrified of the defendant.”

Birch told police afterwards that he “lost his head”, and admitted using a e-cigarette appliance to break the glass, but couldn’t explain why.

The court heard he had been in a “rocky and volatile” relationship with the woman for six months until he ended it in February, this year.

Stacey Mightie, mitigating, said that the weekend before Birch discovered his ex-partner “had been sleeping with someone else and that led him to damage her vehicle.

“It was a moment of madness in effect and he simply lost his temper on this occasion.”

Birch, 25, of Beechwood Close, admitted criminal damage when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Wednesday.

He was fined £270 and ordered to pay £300 compensation, with £85 costs and a government surcharge of £30.

A 12 month restraining order was imposed, banning him from going to her home address or contacting her either directly or indirectly.