Wife shouts ‘she’s only 18’ then drives into teacher husband for having affair with ex-pupil
THEY say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
And when Maria Addis discovered her PE teacher husband was having an affair with an 18-year- old former pupil, she drove into him with her car.
The 34-year-old mother-of-two was heard screaming ‘She’s only 18’ at husband Mark Addis, 37, before driving into his leg – leaving him groaning in pain on the ground.
Barnardo’s charity worker Addis was due to stand trial, but pleaded guilty to careless driving to avoid discussing the ‘tawdry affair’ in public.
The couple began rowing after Addis realised that her husband of 15 years had started an affair with teenager Lucy Gill, now 19, a court heard.
They were seen arguing outside their family home in Glyncoch near Pontypridd, South Wales, on May 4 last year.
Mr Addis was demanding his phone back from his wife, as he didn’t want her to see ‘certain messages’ on it – causing her to push him into a bush before locking herself in the family’s Chevrolet because she was scared of him, said her lawyer.
The court heard Mr Addis – who is still in a relationship with Miss Gill – then stood in front of the vehicle with his arms outstretched, before repeatedly banging on the car windows.
Addis was then seen edging forward at around 2mph and ‘nudging’ her husband – who fell backwards to the ground clutching at his leg.
Jeremy Jenkins, defending, told Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court: ‘Things got out of hand against a background where Addis was seeking to get the truth from her husband about an extramarital affair with a former pupil.
‘It was a misjudgment to move the car forward in the direction of her former husband. But it was brought about by the circumstances that prevailed at the time.
‘She was candid in interview and accepted that the situation got the better of her.’
Addis denied dangerous driving and common assault, but admitted careless driving in May rather than ‘airing her dirty laundry in public’ at a trial.
Judge Richard Twomlow ordered the assault charge to lie on file, telling her: ‘This incident was a stupid incident and did not bring much credit to any participant in it.’
Addis was fined £500 and given seven penalty points on her driving licence. She will also have to pay a £50 victim surcharge.
The court was told Addis – who is currently on long-term sick leave and will not return to work for ‘a few weeks yet’ – was glad the case had ‘finally come to an end’.
A neighbour said Mr Addis and Miss Gill had moved in together in the semi- detached house he had previously shared with his wife, but have since moved away to make a fresh start.
He said: ‘She was very smart and nice. He’s punching above his weight there. We never knew he’d been married before but just came up trumps with this younger girl.’ Mr Addis teaches PE and humanities and is a ‘leader of learning’ at the Aberdare Community School, in the Cynon Valley. He is listed on Facebook as being in a relationship with financial planner Miss Gill.
They both declined to comment after the case.
‘He came up trumps with this younger girl’