Wrexham,North Wales - Man jumped on neighbour’s car in dispute over parking

Published date: 05 January 2016 | 

Published by: Staff reporter
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A MAN kicked and jumped on his neighbour’s car and wrote the vehicle off, a court heard.

Damage to Richard Chadwick’s Volkswagen Golf, vandalised on Park Street in Wrexham on December 18, cost £2,900 to repair, the town’s magistrates court heard yesterday.

Justin Espie, prosecuting, said Mr Chadwick and his wife were woken at about 1am by smashing and banging noises. 

They saw Tony James, 37, kick the front of the car before climbing onto the bonnet and jump up and down on the roof.

 The front windscreen and driver’s side wing mirror was smashed and the roof was also damaged during the incident, Mr Espie said.

In total, the damage came to £2,900 and the car was worth £1,400 – which meant it was written off and Mr Chadwick had to pay a £350 excess.

There had been a dispute between the two over parking, Mr Espie added.

James pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage.

Paul Abrahams, defending, said some time before the incident James’ car had been slightly damaged by a minor bump on the street.

James asked his neighbours if they knew what had happened and, while there was no suggestion that Mr Chadwick was responsible for the damage, tensions had risen between the pair and they fell out.

James had been out on the evening of the offence and had been drinking, Mr Abrahams said, and the tension that had been building up “manifested in him disgracefully by jumping on the car”.

It was inexcusable behaviour and James knew that, the court heard.

James was genuinely sorry for the actions and the effect they had on Mr Chadwick and his wife.

“Mr James is intent on not being so stupid and acting in such an inappropriate way in the future,” Mr Abrahams said.

Mr Chadwick, in a statement read by Mr Espie, said the incident had made him feel that his “possessions were not safe on my own street” and that not having a car was a‘big inconvenience for the couple, who have a three-year-old child.

They felt very intimated, Mr Chadwick said.

Carol Lloyd, chairing the magistrates panel, told James the offence was serious enough to warrant a community sentence.

But magistrates had taken into account his early guilty plea and decided to impose an 18-month conditional discharge.

James must pay Mr Chadwick £350 in compensation for the insurance excess accrued by his insurance claim and a further £100 for causing emotional distress.

He must also pay £85 in prosecution costs and a £15 statutory surcharge

SEE-http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/156838/wrexham-man-jumped-on-neighbour-s-car-in-dispute-over-parking.aspx