Sledge hammer-wielding man who threatened to break girlfriend's arm avoids jail
A man appeared at the home of a couple in Much Wenlock wielding a sledge hammer and asking to see his girlfriend, a court heard.
The victim had finished working in the Plume of Feathers public house in the town and had gone home with two friends on the night of August 16, 2014.
Luke Steven Davis, 22, was found guilty of assault by beating and criminal damage at a trial at Telford Magistrates Court on January 23.
Davis, of Lower Bromdon, Wheathill, Bridgnorth, appeared back at the court for sentencing yesterday.
Mr Mike Phillips, prosecuting, said Davis had been in a relationship with the victim for several years since they were very young.
As she finished work on the evening of the assault she had received several text messages from the defendant, including one threatening to damage her friend's vehicle.
Davis had knocked on the door of the home where she was staying with friends who had opened the door to see the defendant holding a sledge hammer over his shoulder, said Mr Phillips.
Davis initially appeared to calm down when he was told they were friends, magistrates heard, however when the victim kept asking him to leave he came inside and up the stairs to where she was standing.
Mr Phillips said the victim had slapped Davis, fearing he was going to assault her but that the defendant had then grabbed her by the throat.
The prosecutor said that the victim and her friends thought Davis was going to push her down the stairs as one of her friends managed to prise away the defendant's fingers from her throat.
Davis, a man of previous good character with no convictions, had then punched a hole in one of the bedroom doors and said "Next I'll break your arm", said Mr Phillips.
The defendant had then run from the property when he realised the police had been called.
He was given a community order for 12 months with a requirement to take part in eight sessions of domestic abuse counselling.
Magistrates fined him £150 and ordered him to pay £80 damage for the door and £100 to the victim as compensation.
He was also ordered to pay £250 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.
Davis, who is self-employed in the construction industry, was given a restraining order not to contact the victim or go to the Plume of Feathers pub.
