Suspended sentence for drink-drive mum

A MOTHER has been left with a suspended prison sentence and a three-year driving ban after an argument with her partner descended into a drunken spree of violence and destruction.

Michelle Davenport, 36, of Foxhall Road, Ipswich, admitted assault, failing to provide a specimen of breath, failing to stop after an accident, criminal damage and obstructing a police officer.

She pleaded guilty to all the charges at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court on Monday .

Gareth Davies, prosecuting, said Davenport had drunk two bottles of wine before arguing with her boyfriend, whom she had recently moved in with, over her dog sitting on his furniture, on September 15.

He said the argument had deteriorated into verbal abuse before Davenport, sometimes known by her married name of Terry, picked up a stereo and threw it at her partner, referred to in court as Mr Brown.

She had then thrown an ornamental rhinoceros horn at his television, destroying it, before picking up a coffee table and throwing it at Mr Brown, and then smashing a china pot into his face.

The victim managed to escape the house in Jasmine Close, Ipswich, by fleeing to the home of his sister, and returned with her and her husband, at which point Davenport took her 15-year-old son and dog into her car and drove away, wearing her pyjamas.

In Ancaster Road she drove her car into the back car of a line of traffic queued at lights, causing an accident in which three other vehicles were damaged, and then drove off, ignoring shouts for her to stop.

The driver of one of the vehicles, Stacy Bell, who received non-serious injuries, called police and gave a description of the green Citroen Saxo being driven by a woman in her pyjamas.

Officers were already looking for Davenport after Mr Brown, who was badly cut to his face, had called police and they recognised the description and arrested her later at her home.

At the station she refused to provide a sample of breath to be tested although officers said she was clearly intoxicated as well as extremely abusive.

In mitigation, Claire Hullock said: “She is extremely remorseful and bitterly regrets her behaviour.”

She said that since the breakdown of her marriage in June last year she had lost her home, and she had lost her job as a chef because of the court proceedings against her.

Presiding magistrate John Clements handed her an eight-week prison sentence for the assault on Mr Brown, suspended for six months.

He said: “It was an attack with a weapon which caused a serious injury.”

She was given three four-week sentences, to be served concurrently, for failing to provide a specimen, failing to stop after an accident, and criminal damage.

She was also ordered to complete 140 hours of unpaid work, and banned from the roads for three years, which is the automatic penalty for failing to provide a specimen.

Have you been a victim of violent crime? Call the Evening Star newsdesk on 01473 324788 or e-mail starnews@eveningstar.co.uk