Sunderland man bricked woman's window after row escalated over games console headset

An angry dad took his fury to another level when he fell out with a fellow parent over a gaming console headset, a court heard.

David Wade, 34, of Eden Vale, near Ashbrooke, took aim at the woman’s home by throwing a brick at her front window when his temper flared.

She saw him approaching at 8.55am on Thursday, November 16, and pulled one of her children away from the glass an instant before it shattered.

Wade struck after two of their children got into a dispute over the game-playing accessory, it was said.

His solicitor Alastair Naismith alleged there had been provocation, with the woman and another of her children going to the school to bully Wade’s son.

Prosecutor Emma O’Hegarty said: “The victim states that she was standing in her hallway, waiting for a lift to work.

“She looked out of her front window and saw the defendant, whom she knew, walking up the path with a brick in his hand.

“She told her son to get out of the way. The brick did not go through the window, but it shattered both panes.

“She asked what he was doing, and she shouted that it was on CCTV. He was interviewed by police and gave ‘no comment’ replies.

“The landlord confirmed it had cost £330 to repair, which included the cost of boarding the windows up.”

At South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, Wade pleaded guilty to a charge of causing criminal damage of £200. The court heard Wade has seven previous convictions from nine offences, the last in May 2022 for criminal damage.

Mr Naismith told the hearing: “There’s background to this matter. Both have primary school children.

“There has been a dispute over a games console headset. She and her older son attended the playground and made threats towards Mr Wade’s son.

“That annoyed him, and he went around to her home and threw the brick.

“He recognises that this isn’t the way that people are meant to deal with things like this.

“He’s lost his temper, and this is not the way he wants his sons to know how to behave.”

Magistrates adjourned the case for reports and granted Wade unconditional bail to be sentenced at the same court on Wednesday, July 10.