Two men surrounded a terrified mum's car and kicked it as she tried to pick her children up from school. Dylan Edwards and Thomas Allison wrongly believed the woman had injured their dog with her vehicle when they accosted her outside a Northumberland primary school.
Incident at School
A court heard that the pair shouted at her to get out as she slowly moved her vehicle to the car park at Fairview and Prudhoe West Academy. They then followed her, surrounded her Subaru and kicked it, damaging the wing mirrors and number plates. The repair cost was £2,427.60, prosecutors said.
The police were called, and Edwards, 25, and Allison, 39, were arrested. Both appeared at Newcastle Magistrates Court last year and pleaded not guilty to a public order offence and criminal damage. They appeared back at the same court last month and were convicted of both offences after trial.
Court Proceedings
The case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report, and Edwards, of Beech Grove, and Allison, of Errington Place, both in Prudhoe, were in the dock this week to learn their fate. Chike Anieto, prosecuting, said the victim was travelling with her mother to pick her children up from school on April 17 last year when she saw the pair as part of a group crossing the road ahead.
The woman slowed her vehicle to let them cross when Edwards jumped in front of the car and said she'd hurt his dog. Mr Anieto continued: "He shouted at her to get out the vehicle. Allison then began circling the car and she could see their dogs walking without any injury." Fearing for her own safety, she tried to make a call to the police.
Sentencing
The court heard that the victim managed to get her vehicle to the school car park, and her mother exited to collect the kids. Mr Anieto added: "Both the defendants appear again. They are waving their arms about and they started kicking the vehicle. One of them was at the front of the vehicle, the other was at the back." The number plates and side mirrors were damaged. The victim called 999 and relayed what was happening, asking people in the area to do the same. She managed to get her mother and children in the vehicle.
Edwards, who has no previous convictions, and Allison, who has 23 offences on his record, have both been given 12-month community orders, with 150 hours each of unpaid work, and been told to pay £1,213.80 each in compensation to the victim. Paul Kennedy, defending both men, said it was an isolated incident where the men thought their dog had been injured, they had stayed out of trouble since, and now expressed empathy for the victim. Mr Kennedy added: "They accept that the incident escalates out of hand. They contest what happened but, I think, they do have a degree of empathy for what that woman would have felt like because of their behaviour."
Edwards and Allison were also ordered to each pay £325 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
