Shocking moment a man breaks into his brother’s ex’s house with a digger, causing £28,000 damage

THIS is the shocking moment a drunk man stole a digger and crashed it into his brother’s ex’s house.

Mark Holmes, 56, rammed his son’s JCB at Paula Brown’s home in Blackwood, south Wales, in a revenge attack over a family breakdown, a court has heard.

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Holmes, from Caerphilly, South Wales, “completely lost his self-control” when he rampaged up and caused £28,000 in damage in November last year.

Footage of the attack was filmed by workers in a nearby van.

It showed Holmes holding his phone as he rammed into the building where Paula was with her son at the time.

Prosecutor James Evans told Newport Crown Court: “Paula Brown is the ex-partner of the defendant’s brother and it appears that the relationship between Ms Brown and the defendant was strained.

“At 1 p.m. Mrs. Brown was sitting with her son in the living room of their home. She saw the JCB vehicle pull into her street. She saw it pull into her Ford Focus in front of her living room.

“There were numerous attempts with the JCB to do damage. It kept turning around.”

He added that Paula confronted Holmes, after which he hit her with the excavator’s arm, resulting in bruises on her leg.

In a statement, Paula said: “I was afraid for my life and that of my son. I thought he was going to kill me.”

The court heard he then drove to the local police station and confessed to driving drunk and taking the vehicle without a permit.

He pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle seizure, damage to property, dangerous driving and driving under the influence of alcohol.

However, he denied an attack resulting in actual assault, instead admitting the battery’s lower charge.

Defending Holmes, Marion Lewis said: “It appears to be a culmination of family issues, misunderstandings and disagreements that have come to a head.

“He carried those burdens. Burdens of his brother’s relationship, Burdens of caring for his wife, Burdens of caring for his children.

“He’s completely lost his self-control and he’s really sorry for that.”

Judge Duncan Bould sentenced him to 16 months in prison, with two years suspended.

He said the attack had “elements of revenge” but accepted Holmes’ remorse and said he escaped custody “by a hair’s breadth”.

The attacker must also wear an alcohol abstinence surveillance badge for 120 days and perform 200 hours of unpaid work.

He was handed a ten-year restraining order and a three-year driving ban, at the end of which he must pass an advanced test to regain his driver’s license.

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