A vigilante mob attack drove a family out of their home after paving slabs were hurled through their window, a court heard.
John Muir walked into a man’s garden and threw the two slabs through his front room window - wounding the householder’s shin.
A child had left the spot where one of the blocks landed moments before the terrifying attack at the Middlesbrough home.
Prosecutor Shaun Dryden said: “The defendant and a group of men attacked the property.
“Effectively the family were subjected to quite a terrifying attack with at least one men wearing a balaclava trying to force his way through the door.”
Muir knocked over a wheelie-bin and other men made threats, told the family to leave their home and said they would be driven away on the night of July 18.
Police found the family in a distressed state, Teesside Crown Court was told yesterday.
Mr Dryden said the trouble had flared after word spread of an unproven allegation.
“If the intention was that the family should leave the area, it has been successful,” he added.
The householder since said the family were made homeless and stayed with a friend out of the area.
He said the attack had a huge impact on their lives, he suffered from depression and extreme stress, felt on edge, struggled to sleep and was afraid to go out.
His leg wound needed five stitches and he still felt pain.
Muir, of Cornhill Walk, Ormesby, Middlesbrough, initially denied any crime - saying he simply followed men in balaclavas and shouted at the scene.
The 34-year-old later admitted wounding, affray and criminal damage.
The former heroin addict had been released from prison weeks earlier and had an extensive record of 161 offences including two assaults.
Uzma Khan, defending, said Muir was upset at the time.
She said: “Mr Muir would say he was not in fact the instigator of this confrontation.
“He attended, caught up in the melee.
"It was very much a spur-of-the-moment decision.
"He picked up the breezeblocks and chucked them through the window.
“He had absolutely no intention to cause injury or harm to the complainant or anybody else.
“He regrets those actions. He accepts that this was an utterly appalling way to act.
“This was very much an isolated incident because of the extreme circumstances.”
Ms Khan said Muir's family suffered as he was remanded in custody for nearly four months and that he wanted to be reunited with them.
Judge Peter Armstrong told Muir: “You were part of a vigilante attack on the home.
“Whatever the background - obviously the court is aware that feelings run high - this isn’t the way to go about matters.
“But you took the law into your own hands. This must have been terrifying.
“This behaviour cannot be tolerated. It is so serious only custody can be justified for it.”
Muir was given a 10-month prison sentence of which he will serve five.
With remand time, he will be out in just over a month.
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