Drunk man ends up on roof after plan to treat ex for her birthday goes wrong
TWENTY-FIVE-YEAR-OLD JAILED FOR 16 WEEKS AND FINED £400
A DRUNKEN troublemaker caused chaos for five hours when he climbed up onto a roof after a “toxic” fallout with his ex-girlfriend. Joshua George was later seen slipping and sliding about because of the sheer state he was in during the high-profile incident on Friday night.
He went round there in defiance of a court order because he wanted to treat her for her birthday but, when it all went wrong, he fled up onto the roof, putting himself at risk and hurling abuse at other people. George, 25, of Wootton Road, Grimsby, admitted causing a public nuisance on July 10 by climbing on to a house roof top.
It included shouting abuse at members of the public and emergency services, damaging property, leading to the road being closed and taking up five hours of emergency workers’ time.
He also admitted damaging roof tiles, solar panels and an aerial, valued at £150, belonging to a neighbour of his ex-girlfriend, and using racially aggravated threatening words or behaviour towards a police officer on the same day.
George admitted breaching a domestic violence protection order made on July 2 by going to his ex-girlfriend’s house in Hainton Avenue, Grimsby, on the same day as the other matters.
He also admitted being away from his home in Wootton Road without reasonable excuse on May 2 during the coronavirus emergency lockdown.
He appeared in custody before Grimsby Magistrates’ Court via a video link to the police’s Birchin Way custody suite. Police were alerted that George was at the home of his ex-girlfriend in Hainton Avenue after he had been drinking.
She heard stones being thrown at her window and he was stumbling around.
She told him she was not interested and knew he had been drinking but he returned an hour later, holding a bottle of vodka and wanting her to let him in.
She called the police but, when they arrived, he went on to the roof of the house but slipped numerous times and grabbed hold of an aerial to steady himself, damaging that as well as tiles and solar panels.
He was shouting abuse at members of the public and hurled a racist insult at a policeman.
George later came down from the roof voluntarily and was found in Wintringham Road. The “toxic” relationship included him breaching two domestic violence protection orders and being jailed for this earlier during the lockdown period.
Ernie Lidster, mitigating, said that George went round to the woman’s house intending to treat her for her upcoming birthday and threw pebbles to attract her attention. He walked away from her but did not walk far enough, although he did not threaten her with violence.
“What he did - and she can’t understand it to this day - was to climb on the roof,” said Mr Lidster.
He was in a “precarious position” there and was “up and down” on the roof slipping about. “He was slipping down, climbing back and slipping down,” said Mr Lidster.
“He did grab the aerial next door to steady himself. He slid into solar panels. He was just perched up there, feeling very sorry for himself. The police talked to him. His mother was called to him.
“He climbed down himself unaided and was arrested. He was doing a lot of shouting. He does regret his actions.
“He couldn’t remember a great deal about it. He wishes to apologise to all concerned.
“He now realises that the relationship between himself and the complainant has come to an end.”
The rooftop incident was different from others in Grimsby where people had done things like hurl tiles down towards people and police below, said Mr Lidster.
District judge Daniel Curtis told George that he made a very foolish decision to go up on the roof because of his drunken state.
“You didn’t just put yourself at risk, you caused some minor damage to an aerial and some solar panels and slates on that roof,” he said.
“You decided in your drunken stupor to abuse members of the public and the emergency services who were there, as they always are, to make sure you were safe and wouldn’t fall to any misfortune.”
The rooftop incident took five hours and tied up police and the ambulance service. “This was a drunken misadventure,” said the district judge. “It’s a serious offence.” George was jailed for 16 weeks and was fined £400.
He was ordered to pay £150 compensation for the damaged aerial and was given a twoyear restraining order.