A former addict threw a spade through a glass window when he got frustrated at being ignored by the occupants inside.

Neil Manning, 38, wanted to speak to the brothers inside the house on Periam Close, Henley-upon-Thames, on May 21, one of whom he’d known since secondary school but hadn’t spoken to for some time, Oxford Crown Court heard.

When he found he was being ignored he climbed over a back garden fence, picked up a spade and threw it through the window.

The shovel shattered the glass and struck one of the men in the arm, splintering the bone.

Manning was later said to have been driven to a cash point by one of the men, given £20 and put into a taxi. The £20 note was later recovered by police.

The defendant, who had what the prosecutor likened to an ‘addict’s’ record of previous convictions, had been due to stand trial on a charge of aggravated burglary. On the morning of his trial he admitted alternative allegations of causing grievous bodily harm and criminal damage.

Mitigating, Adam Williams acknowledged his client had a poor record but said Manning was addressing issues he had with alcohol and drugs.

“He doesn’t seek to minimise the position. He accepts he is guilty of the offence and therefore should be sentenced appropriately,” the barrister said.

Manning had had a difficult life, once being the victim of a kidnapping during which part of his ear was cut off with a pair of scissors.

Sentencing the defendant on Thursday, Judge Michael Gledhill QC asked rhetorically whether he should suspend any sentence of imprisonment.

“By sending you to prison immediately, of course, that would send a clear message that those who go out and commit such serious offences go to prison and there is a deterrent element in passing such a sentence.

“Secondly, I look at the injury to your victim and the consequences to him.

“You are 38 years old with a terrible record...and you have got to do something about it because if you don’t the time will very soon come when the sentences get longer and longer and you won’t be able to pull back from the steep slope.”

He imposed 16 months’ imprisonment suspended for two years. Manning must do the thinking skills programme, 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and comply with a three year restraining order.

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