Chesterfield man assaulted two staff members 'because he was faced with eviction'

Graham Boam had recently moved into the Goodman Court complex in Central Drive, Calow, with his wife when the incidents occurred, Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court was told on Tuesday, February 4.

The 63-year-old admitted assaulting one staff member on January 3, and another on January 15, following meetings he had had regarding his pending eviction.

Prosecuting, Peter Bettany said the first incident happened after Boam called the office on an intercom and asked a member of staff to go to his flat.

“She noticed that the coffee table was smashed on the floor, and the defendant became quite animated then and held up a parking ticket and said, ‘It’s all your fault’,” he said. “He then picked up parts of the coffee table and the employee thought he was going to threaten her. In a statement, she said, ‘He then threw broken bits of the coffee table at me and then he picked up the table top. He was holding it at chest height and I thought he was going to assault me’.”

He said that the second incident followed a meeting about Boam’s imminent eviction where he grabbed the fire extinguisher from the wall and brandished it.Although in police interview Boam said that he had only threatened to “soak the b****” with it.

Mitigating, Lucy Hooper said: “He and his wife were facing eviction and the prospect of losing their home was very upsetting for them.

“It had an impact on their mental health - his wife made an attempt on her own life and so did he later. The issue is still ongoing but he is now seeking help. Neither contact was made in either incident and there was no premeditation on his part.”

Boam was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £40 in compensation to each of his victims.

Magistrates wavered costs and the government-imposed victim surcharge.