Nether Langwith man attacked son for running up drug debts he was paying off

Nottingham Magistrates’ Court heard Neil Mason had been drinking when he shouted and swore ‘whatare you doing here?’ as his son entered his Nether Langwith home, on April 8.

Annelli Pritchard, prosecuting, said his son got between Mason and his mother as Mason punched him on the face and forehead.

Mason's son took him to the floor and pinned Mason's arms to stop him assaulting him. He thought he had stopped fighting and got off him, but Mason climbed to his feet, began flailing his arms and had to be pulled away by another member of the family.

During the struggle Mason clawed at his son's eye, causing it to bleed.

Ms Pritchard said ‘a relatively large amount of alcohol was consumed’ before it ‘all kicked off’.

She said the relationship between the two was ‘difficult’ and Masons son made a recording of the incident on his phone because he was concerned about what might happen.

Mason, aged 55, of Limes Avenue, Nether Langwith, admitted assault.

The court heard the offence attracts a maximum sentence of 16 weeks in prison.

Donna Pursglove, mitigating, said Mason deserved credit for his early guilty plea.

"Unfortunately this would appear to be a situation with his son's drug use which led to an awful lot of debt Mason is still paying off."

The court heard Mason ‘wanted to put a stop to everything that was going on’, because ‘it all became too much’.

Mason received injuries to his face during the assault, Ms Pursglove said, adding: “It would appear depression and alcohol have been factors.

“As a result the drug usage has now stopped, so that is at least one good thing that has come out of it.”

Magistrates adjourned sentencing to Mansfield Magistrates’ Court on September 22. Mason was released on conditional bail.