A violent son who made a "nonsense" claim he was asleep while he attacked his mum and stepdad has been jailed.
Ross Pippin pulled his mum's hair and kicked and hit her partner with a pan during a drunken outburst at their home in South Shields. His mum called for him to be spared prison in a victim impact statement but a judge told him only custody could be justified.
Newcastle Crown Court Pippin went to his mum's home on the afternoon of August 24 last year and was sober and pleasant but he went out drinking that night and she told him not to go back there when he rang around 11pm. But at 1.40am she was woken by him at the door. She let him in and told him to go straight to bed and he said he would sleep on the settee.
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She went to bed but then heard him shouting to himself downstairs and asked him to stop. She went back to bed but then he did it again so she went back down with her partner. The court heard he was verbally abusive to his mum then knocked the TV off its stand.
Michael Cahill, prosecuting, said: "She said she'd had enough and he was to go and his stepfather called 999 and asked for the police. The defendant shoved his mother in the kitchen and punched and kicked his stepfather. His mother tried to get him off and that led to him pulling his mother's hair.
"His stepfather tried to protect her and the defendant grabbed a pan and hit him with it on the back of the head. His stepfather fell to the floor and was kicked by the defendant when on the ground. He got up and went to the lounge and the defendant continued shouting abuse at him and hit him a few more times.
"He went outside and was followed by the defendant who kicked him on the ground." Pippin then went back in the house and told his mother: "I'm going to go down for this."
In a victim impact statement, his mum said: "I'm still angry with him and don't wish to see him but I feel a custodial sentence would not help him. A custodial sentence would not benefit me or him and I want him to be put back on the straight and narrow rather than going to prison. I feel very distressed at the thought of him going to prison and I want to give him one last chance."
His stepdad added that the assault had affected his work as a bus driver and added: "I believe he needs mental health support. When sober he is a decent man."
The court heard Pippin has 47 previous convictions, including ones of common assault, battery, breaching a restraining order and criminal damage against his mother. The 31-year-old, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm on his stepfather, common assault on his mother and criminal damage.
Jailing him for 16 months and imposing a five-year restraining order, Recorder Carl Gumsley said: "I can understand a mother doesn't want to see her son go to prison. However, you are a violent man, you are a hostile man, particularly when you are in drink.
"In my opinion, despite what is said in the mental health report about you wanting to do something about it, you have given no demonstration of that at all. The pre-sentence report says you lack any motivation to change and have a lack of respect for authority.
"Even now, in the pre-sentence report, you are for saying you just offended because you were in sleep of some kind, which I regard as utter nonsense. You are a risk of serious harm to your family and the public and you have the most appalling record."
Jennifer Coxon, defending, said: "He has some remorse. He says he was intoxicated. His instructions are he was finding it difficult to sleep, he was struggling with his mental health and having nightmares, which he was having that night. He says he was shouting in his sleep.
"He accepts reacting very badly and he lost his temper and essentially saw red and couldn't see through the mist he had. He accepts he has taken it out on the wrong people, people who are there to support him. He is, deep down, a nice young man."
