Family forced to sleep in car after vile racial abuse from neighbour
COUPLE AND CHILDREN SCARED
A FAMILY were forced to sleep in their car after suffering racial abuse from a downstairs neighbour.
Lionel Munt, 44, of Great Thornton Street, banged on the family’s door, woke them up in the early hours of the morning by playing loud music and subjected them to horrifying racist slurs as they tried to sleep.
The family of four, which included a pregnant woman, her husband and two young children aged two and three, were forced to sleep in their car, fearful of what Munt may do to them.
The young children and their mother now wake up in the middle of the night “jumping” and terrified that Munt is at their door.
Prosecuting, Shaun Dodds, told Hull Crown Court on Monday, October 5, that Munt would play music so loud between 1am and 6am every night the flat below would “vibrate”.
This then escalated and Mr Dodds said Munt could be heard “throwing furniture around”.
He added: “He would then go downstairs and bang on the family’s door in the early hours of the morning. She thought the door would be broken down. During one incident she looked out and saw him holding something which she thought was a knife.
“On two previous occasions he caused damage to the door and would throw a pram against it. On July 19 this year, he banged on the door and both children woke up crying and frightened.”
The woman, who spent nights alone with the children as her husband worked, could not understand what Munt was shouting through the door but neighbours later told police he could be heard shouting at the family to “go back to their own country” and to “open the f****** door.”
Mr Dodds said: “It got so bad the family had taken to sleeping in their car.”
In a victim personal statement, the woman told the court she had even stopped taking her children to nursery for fear of bumping into Munt.
She said: “Due to his behaviour, I have developed anxiety and I now shake when I hear loud music. I wake up jumping thinking he is at the door and my children wake up in fear asking if the bad man is coming back.
“I was once taken to hospital as my heart rate had risen that much and I could not breathe. My GP has sent me to counselling.”
Hull Crown Court heard Munt has previous convictions for offences such as affray, robbery and racially aggravated behaviour and harassment, for which he was given a suspended sentence.
Munt was subject of this suspended sentence at the time of the offences against the family.
Mitigating, Mark Savage, told the court Munt was under the influence of drink and drugs at the time of the offences and knew his actions were “not acceptable”.
He said: “He says that when he is not under the influence of drink or drugs he is not racist. He has used his time remanded in custody wisely and for the past seven weeks has been on the drug rehabilitation wing where he has stayed drug-free and is enjoyed that feeling.
“At the time he was using drink and drugs as a coping mechanism for other mental health problems. He was drinking six litres of cider. He knows he needs to change or the revolving door of prison will go on forever.”
Recorder Gavin Doig told the court that a pre-sentence report undertaken by the probation service showed Munt had shown “no remorse” for his actions.
He sentenced Munt to nine months and two weeks in prison for two counts of racially aggravated harassment and breach of a suspended sentence.
Munt has also been made the subject of a five-year restraining order and must not contact the family and must not play loud music between the hours of 11pm and 7am.