‘Bloody’ Mansfield man took knife to ex’s house and hurled bricks at granny’s car

Conner Ball began banging on her door in Clipstone, in the early hours of October 25, last year, and asked: “You have got someone else in your bed haven't you?”

Teresa Simms, prosecuting at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court, said his ex told him she had been asleep and noticed blood on his face before spotting the three-inch knife in his hand.

Describing herself as “frightened”, she said “she didn't know if he had the knife to hurt her or himself”.

“Since then I have heard noises outside which made me feel on edge,” she said in a statement. “He has a history of turning up at my house and I am worried it is him.”

Ball, aged 26, was told to leave the family home in Clipstone, on August 22, at 6am, after becoming “argumentative”.

When his grandmother got home, she discovered dents in the roof of her Mokka Elite and CCTV showed Ball hurling bricks “with a lot of force” that bounced off the vehicle.

In a statement she said: “I was furious. I couldn't believe he has done this. He wants everything his own way and is not taking responsibility for his actions.”

Repairs cost £1,468 and she had to pay £450 excess on her insurance.

The court heard he has seven previous convictions, and was last in trouble in 2020.

Ball, formerly known as Hynes, of Walnut Tree Crescent, Forest Town, admitted possessing a knife in a public place and criminal damage.

Jess Skelton, mitigating, said: "He knows he shouldn't have acted in this way. He had been self-harming and only had intentions to harm himself.”

She said he had fallen out with most of his family and was homeless as a result. He didn't sleep for a week and began to hallucinate, she added.

Since these incidents he has contacted his GP and is awaiting a mental health assessment, Ms Skelton said. He now has a factory job.

The case was adjourned for probation reports and he will be sentenced on May 10.