Milton Keynes father punished by courts for battering drunk man who tried to get in his house late at night

A judge heard that 51-year-old Leigh Sherlock became agitated when Stephen Witham hammered on his door and tried to go inside when it was opened.

The father pushed Mr Witham outside into the street in Newport Pagnell and then followed him before punching and kicking him.

Judge Catherine Tulk heard the incident happened around 11pm in October 2019 when Mr Witham left a public house, having been separated from his partner.

He ended up lost in Queens Avenue, where Sherlock lived.

Sherlock pushed the drunk man, who was a stranger to him, out of his house before continuing to follow him onto the street.

Prosecutor Terrence Woods said: "The victim was approached by the defendant who punched him to the ground, kicked him and stamped on his head."

During the incident Mr Witham suffered a bloody face and sustained injuries including a broken nose and a laceration to his head which had to be fixed by skin clips.

The court heard that a neighbour who witnessed the incident, saw Sherlock kick the victim four or five times. The witness' parents helped Mr Witham after the assault and tried to clean him up.

The prosecutor said that police went to the address and found the bloodied victim on a bench nearby. Officers took Mr Witham to hospital where he received treatment for his injuries and was discharged the same day.

When the police went to arrest Sherlock they found him drunk and had to Taser him as he was uncooperative. Sherlock threatened the police as he was being taken into custody and during transit to a police station he said of Mr Witham "the bloke had attacked me" and continued to repeat this in his interview.

Defence counsel Richard Jefferies said Sherlock, who was looking after two out of three of his children on the night of the incident, did not pre-meditate the assault and that the victim did not sustain serious injuries.

Sentencing the father, Judge Tulk said: "I understand it would be scary late at night... when a drunk man you've never met appears on your doorstep hammering on the door."

Mr Witham's drunken condition was known from footage of him going to a neighbouring house and the judge accepted it would be terrifying to open the door and for a man to walk in.

Presiding at Aylesbury Crown Court, Judge Tulk sentenced Sherlock to an 18-month community order and 23 rehabilitation days as well as ordering him to pay a £50 fine and a victim surcharge fee.