Business owner broke a mum’s nose after accusing her son of vandalism

A business owner broke a woman’s nose over alleging that her victim’s son had vandalised her business.

Stacey Withey was under ‘significant stress’ after the works yard housing the scaffolding business she co-owned with her partner was vandalised, causing tens of thousands of pounds of damage.

Withey, 34, reviewed CCTV footage and identified a number of teenagers who she alleges were responsible for the damage – one of whom was the son of Gemma Thomas.

Withey tried to speak with Ms Thomas, but she was ‘not forthcoming’, so when they ‘bumped into each other’ in the street by chance last April 4 she ‘snapped’, headbutting Ms Thomas and breaking her nose.

James Harris, mitigating, told Cardiff magistrates court: ‘Ms Withey accepts there was a back and forth and accepts she lost her temper.

‘Unfortunately she very much felt Ms Thomas was ignoring or denying everything on behalf of her son. The defendant snapped.’

Withey pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm during the attack in Sarn, a village near Bridgend in Wales. She has five previous offences on her record, with the most recent a 2018 battery.

Presiding Justice Nigel Buckland imposed a 16-week jail term, suspended for 18 months.

He said the custody threshold was passed because of the ‘element of planning’ by the defendant, who ‘used her head as a weapon’.

But he said it was right to suspend the sentence because of the ‘realistic prospect’ of rehabilitation and the three children who depend on Withey. He also noted she had previously complied with court orders.

Mr Buckland ordered Withey to complete 26 days of rehabilitation. She will not have to pay prosecution costs or a victim services surcharge but must pay compensation of £250 to Ms Thomas.

Before she left the dock Withey told the magistrates: ‘You won’t see me again.’

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