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19
Jul
Pateley Bridge woman who poured cooking oil and chip waste on man’s car sentenced
A Pateley Bridge woman who poured leftover chip waste and washing up liquid on a man’s car has been sentenced in court.
Angela Clarke, 61, of Nidd Walk, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court this afternoon where she spoke only to confirm her name and address.
Clarke pleaded guilty to one count of harassment without violence and one count of criminal damage to property valued under £5,000 at a previous hearing.
She appeared before court yesterday (July 18) for sentencing.
The prosecution told the court the defendant and the named complainant were neighbours at the time of the offences, which took place between May and October last year.
They said on May 25, Clarke verbally abused the man after he parked his car outside her flat due to ongoing maintenance work in the area.
She regularly shouted at him through his window and through his door.
The man also saw Clarke walking past and banging on his window and staring into his property numerous times, the court heard.
On other occasions, she “stuffed leaves” through the named victims’ letterbox and let herself into the man’s flat while drunk.
On September 17, the court heard that Clarke went to the complainant's flat and shouted verbal abuse, before staring through his window. The complainant said she moved away after he called the police, but he then heard some commotion and found his car covered in cooking oil and leftover chip waste.
The prosecution said:
It had a significant impact on him. He said it made him feel terrified. He felt like she was targeting him in such a way. He said he did not deserve this kind of behaviour.
'She takes full responsibility'
Sean Wilson, defending, told the court that the defendant had just come out of a 38-year marriage.
He said Clarke, who was visibly upset in court, had been “self-medicating” with alcohol but had since sought to address her problems through North Yorkshire Horizons.
Mr Wilson said:
She fully accepts that the behaviour she exhibited was inappropriate. She takes full responsibility.
Mr Wilson added that Clarke suffers with anxiety and depression, as well as memory problems - for which she has a care package.
He said that she had not committed any further offending in the nine months since the offences took place.
Magistrates sentenced Clarke to a 12-month community order consisting of 15 rehabilitation activity days and a six-month alcohol treatment requirement.
The 61-year-old was also subject to a two-year restraining order ordering her not to approached the victim or contact him by any means or through a third party.
She was also ordered to pay the victim £300 in compensation.
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