Man attempted to drive car through ex-partner's window

31-year-old was incensed after being told relationship was over

A SPURNED lover drove his car into the front of his ex-partner’s house after he was told their 10-year-relationship was over, a court heard.

Terrified Claire Anstie acted quickly to rush the couple’s young son out of the living room as an enraged Jason David Denton deliberately mounted the curb and sped his Vauxhall Vectra into her home in Lancaster Close, Thatcham, in November.

The force of the collision left the young mother fearing the front wall could collapse at any second, according to prosecutor Lisa Goddard.

Denton, aged 31, of Mount Road, Thatcham, pleaded guilty to one count of causing criminal damage and one count of dangerous driving.

He was sentenced to two months in prison at a hearing at Reading Crown Court on Friday.

However, he was eligible for immediate release because of the time he’d already served in custody.

In a victim impact statement read out to the court, Ms Anstie said she had been left fearful and nervous in her own home following the incident.

“I am disgusted he could do this with his own son in the house,” she said in the statement.

“I can’t understand why anyone would have done this and I don’t ever want to see him again.”

The court heard how the pair had endured a tumultuous relationship over the last decade, which by November last year had broken down completely.

Ms Goddard told the court that Denton, who has a history of offending, had turned up unexpectedly at Ms Anstie’s home, where she lived with the couple’s four-year-old son, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 2.

After trying to convince Ms Anstie to rekindle their relationship, Denton then began threatening to self-harm, before abruptly leaving.

“He then came up to the door again,” said the prosecutor.

“She refused to open the door, and he then uttered the words ‘I’m going to drive through your window’.”

The court then heard how Ms Anstie saw her ex-partner’s car mount the curb and drive across the grass at the front of her house before crashing into the plastic panel below the living room window.

“Such was the force of the impact that the plastic panel bent into the house,” explained Ms Goddard.

“She could see daylight between the window frame and the wall.”

“She thought for a moment that the house could fall down or that he could continue driving into the house.”

Witnesses told police the car then reversed and drove away at speed.

Denton, who works locally as an electrician, was sentenced to two months for the criminal damage to the home and one month for dangerous driving, to run concurrently.

He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months and made the subject of a restraining order.

Sentencing judge Alistair McCreath said: “This case is really not so much about the damage as about the real fear of what you did caused to the people in that house, including your own son.”

He added: “What went on between you and your partner, I know from your history of offending against her, you bear substantial responsibility for what went wrong and she deserves protection from you by the court – you need protection from yourself.

“These circumstances occurred when you became completely out of control of yourself.”