Louth man sentenced after threatening British Gas engineers with a piece of wood

Daniel Aaron Perry, 38, of Gresley Road, admitted threatening behaviour when he appeared at Boston Magistrates’ Court last week.

Prosecuting, Yaysa Hue said British Gas staff, together with a locksmith, went to Perry’s home in Louth at 10.30am on June 3 to change the meter.

She said that as there was no answer they entered the house and found Perry in the sitting room.

She said he shouted at them to get out and, when they did, he followed them out and picked up a slat of wood from some pallets outside the front door and started waving it about.

Ms Hue said police were called but Perry continued to wave the wood about and when one of the engineers went to retrieve his work tools, Perry approached him with a spade and struck it on the ground close to him.

She said he did go back inside when told to do so and later apologised for his behaviour, saying he should not have gone out of his house.

Mitigating, Gordon Holt said Perry had a number of mental health problems, including ADHD and a personality disorder.

He said Perry had been asleep on the sofa and when he was woken up by the gas engineers breaking into his house, thought it was the same people who a few weeks before had assaulted him and broken his front windows, though he accepted he had overreacted.

Perry was ordered to undertake 20 rehabilitation days and to pay a fine of £40, in addition to £180 in court charges and costs.