Ex-Harrogate solicitor struggled with alcohol dependency, inquest hearsEx-solicitor died of hypothermia in Harrogate cabman’s shelter, inquest hears

A former Harrogate solicitor died of hypothermia in a cabman’s shelter on the Stray, an inquest has heard.

Richard Wade-Smith, 67, was found “unresponsive” in the distinctive green shelter on West Park, opposite Hotel Du Vin, at 7.15am on September 15.

Besides hypothermia, Mr Wade-Smith’s cause of death was also attributed to alcohol dependency, bipolar affective disorder, hypertensive heart disease and coronary artherosclerosis, the opening inquest in Northallerton heard yesterday.

He worked for a number of Yorkshire law firms and ran his own legal service from Wedderburn House. But his life descended into a downward spiral after a string of criminal convictions.

He was subject to a restraining order after ramming his car into his wife’s Harrogate home and subjecting her to “mental torture” on Boxing Day 2021.

He was later jailed for 10 months for breaching the order and was jailed again in June this year for indecent exposure on Stockwell Lane in Knaresborough.

The inquest was adjourned to a full hearing at a later date.

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Former Harrogate solicitor jailed for indecent exposure in Knaresborough

A former Harrogate solicitor has been jailed for four weeks for indecent exposure.

Richard Wade-Smith, 67, was charged with exposing his genitals on Stockwell Lane in Knaresborough.

York Magistrates Court heard the incident happened between May 7 and May 10 this year.

Wade-Smith, who appeared in court via link from HMP Hull on Monday, pleaded guilty to the offence.

He was jailed for four weeks and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £154 and court costs of £85.

A court document detailing the sentence said the offence was serious because it caused a “distressing experience in presence of children and occurred on multiple occasions”.

It added that Wade-Smith’s guilty plea was taken into account when sentencing him.

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Wade-Smith, who worked for various law firms in Yorkshire and later ran his own legal service from Wedderburn House, had previously been jailed for breaching a restraining order in December 2022.

The 67-year-old was given the order by York Crown Court after he rammed his car into his wife’s home in Harrogate on Boxing Day 2021 and subjected her to “mental torture”.

He was jailed for 10 months after he breached the order, which banned him from going near his wife’s address, by knocking on her door just four days after being spared jail.

Harrogate solicitor jailed after breaching restraining order

A solicitor who rammed his car into his wife’s home in Harrogate and subjected her to “mental torture” has been jailed for breaching a restraining order designed to protect her.

Richard Wade-Smith, 66, was spared jail in September after he admitted harassment causing fear of violence, damaging property and drink-driving.

That followed an unrelenting harassment campaign against his now-former partner which culminated in the incident on Boxing Day 2021 when Wade-Smith, who was drunk, rammed his Nissan Qashqai into his wife’s home in Slingsby Walk. 

On that occasion, Wade-Smith received a three-year community order with a rehabilitation programme and restraining order banning from contacting the victim or going anywhere near her property. 

It was hoped that a non-custodial sentence would enable him to “rebuild his life”, but within four days of it being imposed, he went to his wife’s house and knocked on the door.

Restraining order breach

Barrister Kelly Sherif, who was prosecuting at the initial sentence hearing, said it was about 8.15am on September 19 when Wade-Smith’s wife heard a knock at her door. Wade-Smith walked off but about two hours later he returned, knocked on her door again and called her name.

The named victim went to the door, but Wade-Smith, a former “high-powered” lawyer, walked off again.

A neighbour called police and Wade-Smith was arrested. He was charged with two counts of breaching a restraining order and remanded in custody. 

He admitted the offences and was due to be sentenced in October, but Judge Sean Morris adjourned the case to look into the possibility of new hostel accommodation as an alternative to jail.

York Crown Court

York Crown Court.

Wade-Smith, of no fixed address, appeared for sentence at York Crown Court today.

The court heard that under the terms of the restraining order, Wade-Smith was supposed to go straight to Harrogate Borough Council’s offices to seek emergency accommodation following his release from custody in September.

However, Brooke Morrison, prosecuting at today’s adjourned sentence hearing, said there had been a delay in releasing him from custody which meant that when he was freed, the council offices had closed for the day and there was no room for him at any hostels in Harrogate.

He had slept rough on his first night of freedom and failed to get in touch with the council the following day, which meant that his request for hostel accommodation was turned down.

The lawyer slept in an expensive hotel for “one or two nights”, but then got drunk and ended up sleeping on the street.

He claimed that while sleeping rough he had been robbed of his credit cards and woke up in hospital. 

He said that with “nowhere else to go”, he headed for his former marital home. 

Too drunk to get out of car

Wade-Smith, who had worked for various law firms in Yorkshire and latterly ran his own legal service from Wedderburn House, was nearly twice the drink-drive limit when he rammed his car into his wife’s home on Boxing Day.

His wife was woken by a terrible “smashing” noise which she initially thought was an “explosion”. 

Wade-Smith was so drunk that police had to help him out of the car, which was damaged along with the front of the semi-detached home. 

The incident followed months of marital discord in which Wade-Smith falsely accused her of being unfaithful and forced her to flee the house.

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Wade-Smith, a Cambridge law graduate, had been in a relationship with the victim for about 22 years, but in 2021 his behaviour changed after he started drinking again.

He would “disturb (his wife’s) sleep”, waking her in the middle of the night and demanding she “answer questions” of a personal nature, said the prosecution.

In November last year, she started receiving nasty messages on a “daily basis” from Wade-Smith. On one occasion inside the house, he told her: 

“If you don’t go now, I’ll kick you down the stairs.”

Wade-Smith was said to have been suffering from psychosis and “hypermania” after becoming bipolar in middle age. 

Defence barrister Ayman Khokar said that Wade-Smith “wasn’t in his senses” when he went back to the victim’s home and breached the order.

‘Re-triggered trauma’

Judge Morris, the Recorder of York, told Wade-Smith it was his “own fault” that he was now facing a jail sentence. 

He said although it was true that he had only knocked on his wife’s door, it had “re-triggered the whole trauma of the past and that is why it has caused this (victim) very serious distress”.

He added: 

“She is in a bad way because of you, and it is a form of mental torture.”

Wade-Smith was given a 10-month jail sentence, but he will only serve half of that, less the time he had already spent on remand, before being released on prison licence. 

The judge ordered that the restraining order would remain in place indefinitely.

Former solicitor breached restraining order in Harrogate

A solicitor from Harrogate has been remanded in custody after breaching a restraining order preventing him from contacting his ex-wife.

Richard Wade-Smith, 66, appeared at York Crown Court this morning via video link from HMP Hull to be sentenced after pleading guilty to the breach at York Magistrates Court last month.

The court heard he had previously been sentenced to a community order and restraining order on September 15, after ramming his car into his ex-wife’s house at Slingsby Walk, near the Stray in Harrogate. He had admitted harassment causing fear of violence, damaging property, and drink driving.

Just four days after being sentenced, he breached the order, turning up at his ex-wife’s house as well as visiting her neighbour.

Prosecuting, Kelly Sherif said:

“[His former wife] said that ‘I knew that when Richard was released, that he would not abide by any orders and here we are, four days later…

“I sit in my house with the curtains closed, too scared to venture outside in case I see him’.”

The prosecution said Wade-Smith had knocked on his ex-wife’s door at 8.15am, but left when she failed to answer. He then returned at 10.30am and knocked, as well as calling to his wife and saying it was “Susie” at the door.

When she recognised his voice and again did not open the door, he went to the neighbouring house. The neighbour answered the door but told him he should not be there because of the restraining order.

Wade-Smith said he had nowhere to go, but the neighbour repeated that he was not allowed to be near his ex-wife’s home.

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In mitigation, Alasdair Campbell told the court Wade-Smith had been unable to access temporary accommodation following the sentencing on September 15.

It had taken a long time for arrangements to be made for him to leave HMP Hull, by which time Harrogate Borough Council’s offices had closed and he was unable to get a place at a homeless hostel.

He slept rough that night and the next night, then paid “a lot of money” for a hotel the third night. He slept rough again the following night, but woke up in hospital, having been drinking and apparently been robbed, with his bank card and cash taken.

Recovering alcoholic

Wade-Smith, a recovering alcoholic, admitted breaching the restraining order, though he argued he had only visited his former wife’s home once.

Mr Campbell said:

“When I asked him why he did that on that particular occasion, my instructions are that, faced with what he was going through, [he chose] the option of breaching the restraining order to get himself locked up so he had somewhere to stay that night…

“In hindsight, it may have been a foolish option.

“If someone is prepared to breach a serious court order, it does give one some idea of the desperate position he perceived himself to be in.”

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York — who heard Wade-Smith’s original case in September — adjourned sentencing until November to allow a full victim impact statement to be taken from Wade-Smith’s former wife.

He told Mr Campbell that Wade-Smith should have gone back to the council the day after his release to access the hostel place that had been arranged for him by the court.

He added:

“He isn’t stupid, this man. He should have gone the next day.”

Wade-Smith is due to be sentenced on Friday, November 18.

Harrogate solicitor who rammed car into wife’s home spared jail

A drink-driving solicitor rammed his car into his wife’s home following months of marital discord in which he falsely accused her of being unfaithful and forced her to flee the house.

Richard Wade-Smith, 66, a former “high-powered” solicitor from Harrogate, waged an unrelenting harassment campaign against his now-former partner.

It culminated in the early hours of Boxing Day last year when she was awoken by a terrible “smashing” noise, prosecutor Brooke Morrison told York Crown Court.

The ex-partner initially thought it was an “explosion” but then heard an engine revving and locked herself inside a bedroom as she was too scared to go out and see what it was. 

She called police and it was only when officers arrived that she dared venture outside her home in Slingsby Walk, near the Stray.

To her horror, she realised it was Wade-Smith, who had rammed his Nissan Qashqai into her front door.

Police helped Wade-Smith out of the car, which was damaged along with the front of his ex-partner’s semi-detached home. He was taken into custody where a breath test showed he was nearly twice the drink-drive limit. 

Wade-Smith, a Cambridge law graduate whose legal specialisms included planning and environmental matters, was arrested and charged with harassment causing fear of violence, damaging property and drink-driving.

He ultimately admitted the offences and appeared for sentence today when the court was told about the couple’s toxic relationship and Wade-Smith’s unrelenting harassment of the victim.

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At a previous hearing, Wade-Smith had contested the parameters of a proposed restraining order to keep him away from his former partner because he was worried that the exclusion zone would prevent him going to Waitrose, the upmarket superstore. 

Ms Morrison said the former couple had been in a relationship for about 22 years, but in 2021 Wade-Smith’s behaviour changed after he started drinking following seven years of abstinence.

He would “disturb (his wife’s) sleep”, waking her in the middle of the night and demanding she “answer questions” about her so-called “secret lives” and their sex life.

Wade-Smith also demanded on “multiple occasions, in the middle of the night”, that she leave the house.

He would shout at her on “multiple occasions” in the street. She became so frightened she began “spending large amounts of time overnight sitting on her doorstep or wandering the streets”.

Fearing for her safety

In November last year, she started receiving nasty messages on a “daily basis” from Wade-Smith, who made further groundless accusations about her.

On one occasion inside the house, he told her: “If you don’t go now, I’ll kick you down the stairs.”

Fearing for her safety and worried she would be physically attacked, the former partner called police. 

Wade-Smith was arrested and bailed on the proviso that he didn’t contact her or go to her address.

But the ex-lawyer, who had worked for a number of legal firms in Yorkshire before latterly being self-employed, allegedly sent her more messages while on bail, culminating in the car-ramming incident on December 26.

Following his arrest for that incident, Wade-Smith gave police a prepared statement in which he admitted that the relationship was “not good” but initially denied that the messages and his behaviour were threatening.

In a victim statement read out in court, the former partner said Wade-Smith’s behaviour had left her with health problems and had affected her “financially and psychologically”.

She said she was trying to sell the house of which Wade-Smith had joint ownership and there had been contact between their respective solicitors.

She said that at this stage in her life she he hadn’t expected to be in “this insecure position” and been put under pressure to sell the high-market-value house which needed considerable repair.

Defence barrister Alasdair Campbell said that Wade-Smith had severe mental health problems at the time of the offences and became bipolar in middle age. 

A doctor’s report confirmed he had been suffering from psychosis and “hypermania”, which had been exacerbated by alcohol and “led to a very unpredictable life for both of them”.

Mr Campbell added:

“Because of his previous life (as a solicitor) he clearly has intelligence (and) he has remorse.”

‘A tragic case’

Wade-Smith, a keen cyclist, was currently homeless after spending nine months on custodial remand awaiting sentence.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, told Wade-Smith: 

“This is as tragic case – tragic for you, but especially tragic for your wife.

“You (were) a man of good character and you were a successful solicitor who worked extremely hard in a high-powered position, but unbeknown to you, you became bipolar.

“Your wife recognised that there was obviously something wrong with you and you acted as a completely different person to the man she used to know and love.

“At the time of these awful experiences for your wife, you were suffering with episodes of mania and psychosis, not helped by the fact that you tried to self-medicate with alcohol.

“You became delusional and acted in a way you would not have acted had you not been affected with this problem.”

Mr Morris said that due to this “strong” personal mitigation, he would not be sending Wade-Smith to jail, nor imposing a suspended prison sentence because the former lawyer would be released immediately without accommodation due to the nine months he had spent on remand.

Instead, Wade-Smith received a three-year community order with 40 rehabilitation-activity days “to help “rebuild your life”.

Mr Morris said a community order with support rather than a suspended prison sentence was more “appropriate”, otherwise Wade-Smith would be released from prison “unaided” and with nowhere to live and “on the streets”.

Restraining order

Wade-Smith was also made subject to a restraining order, for an indefinite period, which prohibits him contacting his wife or going near her home in Slingsby Walk. 

The initial map proposed by the prosecution asked for Wade-Smith to be banned from going within 500 metres of his former partner’s house in Slingsby Walk, but Wade-Smith asked for the radius to be halved so he could go to Waitrose.

The judge said that the definitive map would be redrawn if the victim wished to alter it. 

Wade-Smith also received a 17-month motoring ban for drink-driving. 

The Probation Service said that Wade-Smith would be treated as a “priority” case for emergency housing and that the local authority would find him homeless accommodation in Harrogate.