A Bradford man who took his revenge on a neighbour by smashing up his garden gnomes has been put behind bars.
William Vint, 47, also hit the man's door with a shovel in a series of bizarre offences, Bradford Crown Court heard on Friday, April 25. He was locked up for 20 weeks for his latest crimes.
The court heard that the offence of criminal damage took place in September 2023 after the neighbour had told Vint to go back inside his home after he was seen shouting and waving the shovel about. Prosecutor David Ward described the incident as “revenge” for being told to go back inside his home. He said that Vint had caused damage totalling £650.
Recorder David Kelly said Vint’s offending was a result of his very serious alcohol problem.
The court heard that Vint, of Denbury Mount, Holme Wood, had 45 previous convictions for 177 offences and his barrister Rodney Ferm conceded that that his client had been in the same situation on a number of occasions. Mr Ferm said: “When he is sober, as he was this morning, he is a reasonably rational human being with some insight into his offending.
“The problem is that when he is intoxicated, because of his driving need to feed himself with alcohol, he’s a different animal. Only he himself can cure that.”
Vint’s latest series of offences included racially abusing police officers as they tried to arrest him on various dates, kicking a police woman, trying to headbutt another male officer and stealing jars on coffee from a Farm Foods store in Bradford on four occasions.
In May last year drunken Vint was in the Corby area when he approached a couple and their young daughter in a car and started to hit the window of their vehicle. Mr Ward said Vint was shouting and swearing and the family contacted the police after driving away from the scene.
Vint admitted a charge of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour in relation to that incident.
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