Matthew Flett used his VW Polo to repeatedly reverse into partner's Nissan :: 'This is the end of our relationship', she says after learning of Christmas rampage
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A convicted drug dealer who trashed his girlfriend's home and rammed her car after a fractious karaoke session has walked free from court.
Matthew Flett went to his partner's home after he swiped glasses to the floor in a fall-out at a club in Hemlington, Middlesbrough.
The 39-year-old borrowed a key from a neighbour and repeatedly went back and forth to the mum's Hemlington home , smashing it up days before Christmas.
The neighbour heard banging and crashing and asked him what the hell he was doing.
He replied: "Get out now. I'm not finished."
"If this is what she wants, then this is what she will get," he ranted on the night of December 22 last year.
The defendant was seen flinging a Christmas tree about, using it to knock things off the mantlepiece, pulling pictures from the wall and smashing them on the floor.
He pulled the fireplace cover from the wall and smashed two televisions, Teesside Crown Court heard .
The victim's dog ran from the house during the chaos, said prosecutor David Crook yesterday.
Flett got into his VW Polo, span the wheels and reversed into his girlfriend's Nissan five times, pushing it into a neighbour's garden fence.
The victim returned home to find all the mirrors smashed, furniture tipped over, pictures and Christmas presents strewn all over the floor.
She was quoted as saying: "I can't believe that Matthew has done this to me at all, never mind so close to Christmas.
"I don't have money to replace the majority of the items. This is the end of our relationship."
The cost of the damage was estimated at £2,518.
Flett, of Newmarket Road, Redcar , admitted dangerous driving and two counts of criminal damage.
The dad-of-two was on licence at the time, having been jailed for three years in 2011 for possessing cocaine with intent to supply, but has not been recalled to prison.
John Nixon, defending, said: "It was a moment of madness. There's been nothing similar in his past before.
"He expressed utter remorse and regret for his actions. Through me he apologises to all persons who have suffered."
He said Flett, having spent his last two Christmas periods inside, had been looking forward to the festive season but it became clear his five-month relationship was "going nowhere".
"Whatever the rights and wrongs of it, he felt it was all going wrong. He was losing the relationship," added Mr Nixon.
"He completely and utterly lost control."
Flett had otherwise done well, got a job as a key worker, supported his children and hoped to get back to normal.
Judge Peter Armstrong said it was an "appalling act" trashing a woman's home for no reason at all.
He said: "The effect on her and her children must have been devastating for it to happen just before Christmas."
After reading character references, he said it was important for Flett to keep his job and pay compensation to the victim.
He passed a nine-month prison sentence suspended for two years with 200 hours' unpaid work, ordered him to pay £938 compensation and banned him from driving for three years.
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