Boozed-up Derbyshire man wielded claw hammer to “take neighbour’s face”

Justin Hardwick phoned the police himself after going to his neighbour's flat on February 18, prosecutor Eddie Leonard told Derby Crown Court.

He admitted going up there to "do him serious harm" and swung the hammer, but couldn't remember if he connected or not.

Hardwick lost the hammer, which was later recovered outside, and tried to drag his neighbour into the hall, Ms Leonard said on Friday.

He later told police that "he just snapped due to the nuisance that had been caused for the last two years."

He was drinking cider – an empty four-litre bottle was found nearby – and was described as "stressed, upset and angry" when officers arrived.

Gregor Purcell, mitigating, said Hardwick, an industrial cleaner, had been doing vital work during the pandemic and since he was released on bail.

"He is now eight miles away in Chesterfield and in a far better set of social circumstances,” he said. "He is drinking less and he says his behaviour was shameful.

"He was cautioned for an offence committed when he was 18. He is a person who contributes to society in a positive way.”

Mr Purcell said his client cares for his mother and father, and is “someone who can be dealt with in the community.”

Hardwick, aged 40, of Mercaston Close, Holme Hall, Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to threatening a person in a public place and criminal damage on October 9.

Recorder Adrian Reynolds said: "Reading the report and listening to Mr Purcell has changed my mind about the outcome.”

The court heard that Hardwick was genuinely remorseful and had been “heavily in drink on the day,” but that was not an excuse.

"You know you were in the wrong,” the judge told him. “Taking hammers to try and deal with it is the worst thing you can do."

The judge sentenced Hardwick to nine months in prison, suspended for 12 months, with 15 rehabilitation days to help him resolve conflicts in the future.

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Nancy Fielder, editor.