The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A Sutton Bridge man charged with racist and homophobic behaviour, engaged in a ‘thoroughly unpleasant and nasty targeted attack on his neighbours’, a court has heard.
Graham Paul Day, 58, of Withington Street, admitted causing racially aggravated alarm, harassment and distress to two of his neighbours, when he appeared at Boston Magistrates Court.
Prosecuting, Dale Brownless said the offence committed on March 8 had been ‘building, building and building’ and that there had been a ‘significant history since 2019’.
He said that at 3pm on March 8, Katie Heading, who lived near to Day, heard shouting and arguments between Day and his partner and police were called.
He said that after they left it started up again and Day, demanding to know who had called the police, called Miss Heading, who is of Portuguese, Welsh and English descent, several racial slurs.
He also falsely accused her of being in a lesbian relationship with another neighbour and, because of his behaviour, Miss Heading had now had to move away from that address.
Mr Brownless said Day continued to make ‘malevolent allegations against various neighbours over drug use as well as sexual language’ and finally she had to call the police again about his ‘appalling behaviour’.
He said Day was eventually arrested and he suggested to the police that the two victims had ‘colluded in making it all up’.
Mr Brownless said Day appeared to suffer from alcoholism and that his behaviour deteriorated when he was drunk.
He added that Day had 10 previous convictions and was subject to an eight week suspended prison sentence for assault imposed in 2020.
Mitigating, Beris Brickles said that ‘clearly the starting point is custody’ but it would be unjust to do so because of his mental health and alcoholism.
He said Day had tried to apologise to both victims and had been to see his doctor about his alcoholism and was due to receive detoxification, which he would lose if he went to an immediate prison sentence.
He emphasised that Day had never been convicted of a similar offence and he did not accept there was a long history of abuse against these victims.
Day was sentenced to 18 weeks in custody and an additional four weeks for breaching the suspended prison sentence, a total of 24 weeks.
He was also ordered to pay £128 in court charges upon his release from prison and issued a restraining order to prevent any contact with Misses Heading and Moore until further notice.
