A MAN banned from speaking to a woman by her mother in the early hours of the morning smashed her window with a bottle in retaliation, a court heard.

Ajit Kingh, of Middleham Road, Darlington, phoned a family friend at 1.20am last month asking to speak to her daughter – but was refused.

In retaliation he went round and threw a bottle at their window, causing it to break, Newton Aycliffe Magistrates Court was told.

Kingh, 49, admitted a charge of criminal damage to property valued under £5,000 when he appeared in court on Thursday.

Laura Croft, prosecuting, said: “The lady victim describes how she has been living at her address for 25 years and has known the defendant through her brother in law for 17 years. The defendant keeps attending her address and telephoning her to try and see her daughter.

"She says on September 13 at about 1.30am she received a telephone call from the defendant asking to speak to her daughter and when she has said no he has replied 'I will come and break your window'.

"The defendant has come over and thrown a bottle at the window causing it to smash and he then walked away.

"He later confirmed to police he was responsible for the damage and wanted to speak to her daughter and when she refused he became angry about that.

"He said the defendant owes him some money. He confirmed he had no authority to cause that damage but wanted them to have to repair the damage because of the money owed to him."

She said King had nine convictions for 21 offences including an arson offence dating back to 1994 but said he was last before the court in 2003 on an assault charge, for which he received a suspended sentence.

Robert Willoughby, mitigating on behalf of Kingh, said: "Mr Kingh lives in his own. He has a record of previous convictions but his last goes back 14 or 15 years.

"The complainant was said to have owed this guy £80 and he couldn't recover it.

"He spoke to the complainant three weeks before to try to recover it. He tells me his mother live fairly close to the complainant's address. He had been to her house and then went to the complainant's property to recover the money.

"He knocked on the door but no-one came. "He had a bottle in his hand and he threw it. He says he didn't intend it to smash the window but he accepts he acted recklessly."

Magistrates imposed a two-year conditional discharge and ordered Kingh to pay £50 compensation, £85 court costs and a £20 victim surcharge.