Man spared prison for assault

Suspended sentence deemed appropriate

A man who attacked the mother of his child and her partner in their own home has been spared prison.

Twenty-nine-year-old Shaun David Bignell, who's been in custody since committing the offences in November last year, appeared for sentencing at Douglas courthouse this morning.

He's been handed a 30-week sentence, suspended for two years, has been put under a suspended sentence supervision order for that period, and must pay compensation to his victims, as well as prosecution costs.

He's also been banned from purchasing alcohol for 12 months.

At 3.50am on the morning of 17 November, Bignell (who was drunk at the time) kicked in the front door of his ex-partner's property and attacked both her and her boyfriend.

Bignell's four-year-old daughter was also in the property at the time.

The court heard he had decided to go round to try and sort out access to his daughter.

His advocate, David Clegg, said Bignell had been working hard on his behaviour and mental health whilst on remand in prison.

A probation officer's report suggested it would be better to try and rehabilitate him in society, with support, than sending him to prison, acknowledging he had already served 67 days on remand.

Deputy High Bailiff Jayne Hughes ultimately agreed with the report, though she acknowledged Bignell had a long list of convictions which was littered with similar offences.