Man attacked bailiff with metal pole as he tried to collect unpaid council tax
A man who used a metal pole to launch a vicious attack on a bailiff when he turned up at his home to collect unpaid council tax has been jailed.
Christopher Barnard emerged from his house armed with the weapon after taking exception to the bailiff asking his family to pay up.
Bailiff Lee Williams was also punched in the attack outside the property.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Mr Williams had arrived to collect around £2,500 that was owed in unpaid council tax.
But he was instead met with aggression from the 23-year-old who reached for the pole, which had been attached to a vacuum cleaner in the hallway.
He suffered bruising to his legs and buttocks and took two days off work after the attack in March last year.
Vicious
Ms Balvinder Bhatti, prosecuting, said: "The complainant was assaulted and this defendant armed himself with a metal pole.
"He was attacked from behind as he walked back to his van. It was a rather vicious attack, was not provoked and was done to somebody who was carrying out his duties."
Barnard, of Myvod Road, Wednesbury, was found guilty of assault and possession of an offensive weapon following a trial.
Recorder Abigail Nixon told him: "This was an unprovoked attack on an enforcement agent doing his job.
"I accept emotions would naturally be running high when an enforcement officer comes to the house but this was a man carrying out his duty, doing his job.
"You armed yourself with a metal pole and attacked him. I've seen nasty bruising and quite frankly you are lucky not to have been charged with a more serious offence.
"You deliberately armed yourself with the intent of using it and you did use it."
Drink driving
He was sentenced to 20 months behind bars for the attack but was given a further six months inside for separate driving offences and because he was subject to a suspended sentence at the time.
Barnard was stopped by a police stinger near Junction 9 of the M6 in October after officers wrongly believed the Ford Ka he was driving was stolen, the court heard.
However, he was disqualified from driving and was found to be more than twice the drink-drive limit. He tested 74 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The limit is 35 microgrammes.
He pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified, drink-driving, driving without insurance and breaching a suspended sentence.
