WHEN hostel resident Andrew Finan feared he was suffering a seizure, he attempted to contact the hostel’s support worker for help.

But when she failed to answer his calls, Finan walked up to the hostel’s CCTV camera, shouting angrily and brandishing a large kitchen knife.

“He’s been at the hostel since August, but he’s hard work,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

“He has various mental health issues and the staff have difficulty controlling him.”

Incident captured on CCTV

The incident took place in the early hours of December 22 at the Furnace Bank Hostel, Carmarthen.

“The CCTV covers the hostel, and the defendant was shouting angrily directly at the camera and holding a large kitchen knife in his hand,” said Ms Vaughan.

The support worker on duty at the time heard Finan shouting, “I’m sick of you, you b*******,” before turning away and going upstairs to his room.

Support worker left shaken

“I found the incident scary,” the support worker said in a victim impact statement. “His behaviour is erratic and unpredictable, and he scares me. I don’t know what to expect from him from day to day. Waving the knife around and directing it at me was extremely worrying.”

Defence cites frustration

But Finan’s solicitor, Fenn Richards, said his actions were the result of frustration at being ignored by staff.

“He believed he was going to have a seizure, as he’s had five brain bleeds in the past as a result of an assault,” she said.

“He tried to get the staff’s attention, but they didn’t answer the door, and the only way he could get their attention was to stand in front of the camera.”

Sentencing next month

Finan pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place. Sentencing was adjourned to January 14 to allow a probation report to be prepared. Finan was released on conditional bail, with conditions including reporting twice a week to Carmarthen police station, not visiting the Furnace Bank Hostel, and having no contact with the support worker.

TWENTY-FOUR hours after being released from prison, a Pembrokeshire man found himself back behind bars for Christmas.

Mark Ion, 53, was sent back to HM Parc Prison, Bridgend, this week after breaching a protection order against his victim and spitting and making head-butting gestures towards two police officers.

Ion was arrested on December 20, just one day after his release from Parc Prison.

A protection order, imposed by Haverfordwest magistrates on December 10, prevented him from having any direct or indirect contact with a female victim living in Haverfordwest. However, on December 20, Ion was found at her property.

When police arrived, Ion, of Colley Court, Monkton, became verbally abusive and assaulted two officers. He spat at one officer—making no contact—and made a head-butting gesture towards another. Officers also discovered he was in possession of 3.5 grams of amphetamine and 1.5 grams of cannabis.

Ion appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates this week via video link from Parc Prison. He pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of Class B drugs, two charges of assaulting an emergency worker, breaching an interim stalking order, and failing to comply with a post-sentence supervision order. The failure involved being verbally abusive to a probation officer while highly intoxicated shortly after his release.

His solicitor, Tom Lloyd, told the court that despite Ion’s behaviour on December 20, he had displayed no violence towards the police officers or the female victim.

“He has significant mental health and substance misuse issues that he’s struggled with for many years,” said Mr Lloyd. “He’s schizophrenic and relies on heavy medication, but after his release, he consumed alcohol immediately, feeling excited about his freedom.

“He made a serious error of judgement.”

Ion was sentenced to 13 weeks in custody and ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a £154 court surcharge.

A WARRANT without bail has been issued for a 27-year-old Monkton man in breach of a court community order.

Shane Thomas, of Tenby Court, Monkton, was sentenced to the community order by Haverfordwest magistrates on November 20, however he failed to attend a planned probation appointment on November 20 and once again, he failed to turn up on November 26.

This week probation officer Julie Norman requested magistrates to issue a warrant without bail as a result of his failure to attend.

The Bench agreed to her request.