Derbyshire man 'trashed own home after wife spat in his face'

A Derbyshire man caused damage to his home after his partner spat in his face after he chastised her for smacking their child, a court heard.
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Richard Stuart Pain admitted causing criminal damage, but said that his partner had also caused damage following the incident, and a video shown by the prosecution also showed unfinished DIY work on the property, following the incident on December 12.

Prosecuting at Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, March 5, Emma Heath Tilford said that damage had been caused to a chest of drawers and a table, and picture frames were also scattered across the floor.

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She said: “When police attended the property they discovered extensive damage and ketchup had also been sprayed around the property.

Chesterfield Magistrates Court, where Richard Pain appeared on domestic violence chargesChesterfield Magistrates Court, where Richard Pain appeared on domestic violence charges
Chesterfield Magistrates Court, where Richard Pain appeared on domestic violence charges

“They were married in September 2015 and have a son together who is three years old. There have been issues in the relationship and they separated for a year but then moved back in together. She does describe him as repeatedly breaking things in the property and she thinks it was to goad her.”

Speaking in his own defence, Pain, 45, of Wood End Road, Heanor, said the video played by the prosecution did not paint an accurate picture of his involvement in the incident.

He said: “To put things into context we had been doing a bit of work on the house, so what you are seeing there is what I’ve done, what she had done and the work we had been doing, and to say that I have done it all is massively inaccurate.

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“I did a lot of it but not all of it and the lead-up to the things that happened was a pattern of behaviour from her which went unchallenged. Our son had been playing up and she had taken him out of the room and started to smack him. I told her not to hit the child and she had attacked me and started spitting at me, she was saying, ‘You were calling me a bad mother’ and I just didn’t want her to hit my son.”

Pain was fined £261 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £32 victim surcharge.