Ashfield scrap man smashed car window with axe handle after row over bath taps he was trying to remove from a skip in a Derbyshire town

Kurt Curdon-Binch was challenged by the homeowner after she saw him in the skip she was filling, trying to smash the taps off the bath, which had been placed inside, Derby Crown Court heard on Monday, February 15.

The 24-year-old, of Carnarvon Grove, Sutton, had been out with his father collecting scrap metal in the Matlock area, when the incident happened in September, 2019.

Following an altercation with the woman, Curdon-Binch left the premises in a van being driven by his father, but when two men further down the street stared as they drove past, the defendant got out of the van, threatened them and then smashed a window of the vehicle they had been sitting in.

Prosecuting, Lucy Jones told the court: “She was immediately intimidated by the defendant because she had what she thought to be an axe, and he was removing it to try and remove the taps.

“He told her he was collecting scrap metal and she swore at him and told him to get off her property. He was walking back to his van when a neighbour came out and he said to her, ‘She’s a f****** bitch, she’s a c***’.

“The van, which was being driven by his father, drove off. As it went past the two men they had a good look inside, and the van came to a sudden stop.

“He had climbed out with the handle in his hand, and he shouted ‘What’s your f****** problem? I’m sick of people taking the p*** out of me.

"His father got out of the van and shouted at him to get back in, then one of the men shouted to him that he sgould stop picking on vulnerable women.”

Following the second altercation, Curdon-Binch had then raised the handle above his head and smashed the window, the court heard.

He had admitted two counts of possessing an offensive weapon and criminal damage at an earlier hearing before Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court.

The court also heard that Curdon-Binch had previous convictions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and theft, and suffers from ADHD.

Mitigating, Digby Johnson said: “There were particular circumstances at the time to do with the death of his grandfather, but things seem to have calmed, and he’s not come to the attention of the police since that time.

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Judge Robert Ugbuna, sentenced Curdon-Binch to an 18-month community order to include 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days with the probation service. He must also pay £250 in prosecution costs.

The judge also ruled that he was not guilty of separate charges of common assault and attempted theft.

Sentencing, he said: “I appreciate you are someone who has ADHD and a number of other issues. You are a big man and you can’t react to situations like you did - you need to calm down.”

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