A MAN carried out a “tit-for-tat” revenge attack at the home of his ex-partner, believing she had earlier put out his front window.

John Reid recruited friend Paul Patterson and went armed, one with a bat and the other with a metal pole, to the woman’s house in Sherburn Village, near Durham, shortly after 1am on April 7.

They threw a brick through the living room window of the house in South Street, then knocked at the door, bursting in when it was answered.

Durham Crown Court was told that they smashed a number of ornaments and fittings and then Reid swung the bat once or twice at the head of his ex-partner, causing nasty injuries about the hair line.

Peter Sabiston, prosecuting, said he used such force that the bat broke.

Patterson, who was wearing a balaclava, struck the woman’s new partner several times when he tried to go to her aid.

They then fled the premises and the injured woman was taken to hospital suffering heavy blood loss.

She received seven stitches to her head wound, while she was also treated for injuries to her hands and forearms, as was her new partner.

Mr Sabiston said they recognised Reid and, due to a familiar nickname used of ‘Pod’, believed his accomplice was Patterson, which was backed up by forensic evidence.

Both were arrested and made initial denials about being present.

But, at a recent hearing, Reid, 33, of Cummings Avenue, Sherburn Hill, and 30-year-old Patterson, of Hall Gardens, Sherburn Village, both admitted two charges of assault causing actual bodily harm and one of possessing an offensive weapon.

Mr Sabiston told yesterday’s (Friday, December 14) sentencing hearing that Reid made a complaint about his window being put out earlier that evening by a woman and man.

Although his ex-partner was questioned she denied that she and her new boyfriend were responsible.

Shaun Routledge, for Reid, who runs a roofing business, said there was “genuine animosity” between him and his ex-partner, and he “genuinely believed” she was to blame for the broken window.

“It seems to have been a tit-for-tat incident, a drink-induced situation which got out of hand.”

Lewis Kerr, for Patterson, said: “There was clearly this genuine belief over who was responsible for the attack on Mr Reid’s house and that’s why he mistakenly agreed to get involved.”

Jailing both for two years, Recorder Ray Singh told them: “We may never discover the full background, but it’s abundantly clear you tried to take the law into your own hands.

“It was appalling behaviour.”