Man threw eggs at his ex in row in front of daughter

A MAN who threw eggs at his partner during a row said he was ashamed that one of his children witnessed the attack.

The victim was in the car with her young daughter when Peter Willans grabbed them from a tupperware box on the child’s lap.

The 30-year-old was banned from contacting his ex for a year after admitting to assaulting her outside the family’s home in Mirfield.

Prosecutor Andy Wills told Kirklees Magistrates’ Court that the couple had three children together but they separated late last year.

On October 9 Willans turned up at her home uninvited, let himself in and was challenged about this by his ex.

Mr Wills said that he became verbally abusive and accused her of seeing other people.

His ex then tried to smooth things over and they agreed to meet later to talk about child contact.

The victim later got into her car and as she reversed it she noticed that Willans was still there.

There was a further argument and he picked up some of the eggs his daughter was sitting holding in the back seat of the vehicle.

Mr Wills said: “He threw these in the direction of the complainant.

“The egg shells broke, some of the egg landed in her hair and some of it went on the youngest child.”

Willans’ ex then left her car, sought refuge with a neighbour and called police.

He initially denied throwing the egg and was due to come to the Huddersfield court tomorrow.

But he appeared a day early in custody after ignoring his bail conditions not to contact his ex.

His solicitor Paul Blanchard described the couple’s relationship as volatile and said that he only had contact with his children “when it suited” his ex.

He said that on the morning of the incident they had argued over his client’s relationship with another woman and his potentially being the father of one of her children.

Mr Blanchard said: “There were eggs in the tupperware box on the lap of the child.

“Mr Willans, through a pique of anger, picked one of them up and threw it in her direction.

“He’s embarrassed and ashamed that he did this in the sight of one of the children.

“He says he’s never behaved like this in front of the children before and it will never happen again.”

Magistrates sentenced Willans, of Ealand Road in Batley, to 12 weeks in custody but suspended the sentence for a year.

He will have to complete 40 hours of unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation activities as part of a community order.

Magistrates made a restraining order, banning Willans from contacting his ex or going to her home in Calder Road in Mirfield for a year.

He will have to pay £85 court costs and £115 victim surcharge.