Court

AXE RAMPAGE SPECIAL REPORT:
Man Jailed After Causing £48,000 Damage In Axe Frenzy
Thur 5th July 2012 , Yellow Advertiser

A BILLERICAY man who went on a violent rampage and threatened five people with an axe has been jailed for four and a half years.

Paul Hyde, 46, of Patricia Gardens, smashed up seven cars and six houses after his girlfriend dumped him by text message.

He also assaulted two neighbours.

The hearing at Basildon Crown Court on Thursday heard that the spree had been caused by an argument over a Valentine's Day card.

Mr Hyde's girlfriend Alison Hall felt he hadn't been grateful enough for a card she bought him and ended their relationship in a series of text messages.

The court heard that the couple had met 10 months previously and decided to get married after being in a relationship for just three months.

They had previously split up and reconciled on seven occasions.

When Mr Hyde visited the home he shared with Ms Hall to collect his things on February 15, he swallowed pills and whiskey in front of her, then began smashing up their property.

He strangled her repeatedly and at one point threatened to smash her head with an axe.

He then attacked his next door neighbour Pauline Hilton and smashed up the homes and cars of several other neighbours.

The incident caused more than £48,000 worth of damage.

A series of victim impact statements were read in court.

Ms Hall said she and her daughter were now 'homeless and destitute'.

She told police she was unable to sleep, had been prescribed anti-depressants and had begun experiencing anxiety and panic attacks.

She said: “He has not only destroyed our home. He has destroyed our lives.”

Neighbour Pauline Hilton said she did not like to be alone in her home anymore, while her daughter Gemma said she was unable to lock the bathroom door since the ordeal and had developed a 'severe fear' of being alone in the dark.

Neighbour Mr Stacey told police of his anger: “I'm out of pocket and he will be in prison getting three square meals a day. And to rub salt into the wound, it will be my taxes paying for it.”

Paying tribute to the victims, Judge David Owen Jones told Hyde: “These people are now receiving counselling. They can't go out. They feel unsafe in their own house.

“It is unbelievable what you did, psychologically, to upset the equilibrium of these people.”

He sentenced Hyde to four and a half years in prison. He will serve half of that in custody, minus 117 days already spent on remand.

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