A woman took her teenage son on a revenge mission against her own mother after complaining she had been frozen out of a family will. Zoe Newby and Liam Dunphy were among four people who turned up at Diane Haywood's home armed with a baseball bat and iron bar.
Newby claimed, a court heard, she was entitled to a share of her uncle's estate. The group smashed the living window before Newby poked her head through the broken glass screaming at supermarket assistant Mrs Haywood and husband Douglas: ''You have made me into this. You have got enough money, you can repair it all."
Mr Haywood was attacked and suffered a head injury as he tried to stop two of the invaders, who were masked, from getting into his home. His wife escaped uninjured, but was said to have been left 'terrified'.
Newby, a mother-of-four from Top O'th Brow, Bolton, later claimed the Haywoods had been retaining a wedding dress belonging to her sister. It emerged she had previously been jailed and sacked from her job after stealing £500 from an elderly client.
At Bolton Crown Court, Newby, 40, admitted affray after her not guilty plea to aggravated burglary was accepted. Her eldest child Dunphy, 19, admitted assault and criminal damage. Both were sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months.
Earlier, Constance Halliwell, prosecuting, said: "The family had fallen out a few years before this incident. There was a dispute over money, following the death of Diane Haywood's brother. She was entitled to share of his estate, but Ms Newby believed that she and her sister were entitled to it too.
"On September 2, 2020, the complainants were at their home address in Bolton at around 7.15pm when they were disturbed by a knocking at the window and door. Mr Haywood saw Ms Newby was in the garden outside, shouting and screaming whilst their other daughter was also there.
"Mr Haywood said there two males stood at the door, with scarves covering their faces. 'Are you Dougie?', one of them said, to which Mr Haywood replied 'yes', and, in response, one of the males struck him to the head and the second male joined in hitting him.
"Mr Haywood tried shutting the door, but could not do so as one of the males had put his foot in the door. The young males failed to get into the house, however one of them smashed a window using a weapon of some sort so the Haywoods sought refuge in the kitchen. They could both hear glass being smashed whilst Mrs Haywood was on the phone to 999.
"Mr Haywood heard the male voices, but he did not recognise them and they were scared away when they realised that the police were on their way."
The court heard a neighbour heard the commotion and walked over to see what was going on.
"She saw two unknown males," Miss Halliwell added. "She said one of the males was holding a one metre long white bar. She saw the front door and the window being smashed. One of the males was trying to get into the house by using the handle.
"She asked them to leave. There was a short altercation. One of the males referred to his mum being in the property. Miss Barry saw Mr Haywood with a lump on his head."
The court heard Ms Newby was heard to have said 'you have made me into this', while pushing her head through the smashed window. She also said: "You have got enough money, you can repair it all."
After the attack, a blood-soaked glove was found in the street outside the Haywoods' home and the glass around the smashed window was also covered in blood. Forensic tests linked the blood to Dunphy.
In a statement, Mrs Haywood told police: "I suffer from depression and this has made my anxiety go through the roof." Mr Haywood said: "I just want to be left alone. I worry about Diane and what may happen to her. After the incident I had flashbacks."
Newby had a previous conviction from 2017, when she was jailed for 16 weeks for stealing £500 from a dementia patient. No charges were brought against Newby's sister. The fourth member of the group was never identified.
In mitigation for Newby, Steven Sullivan said his client had been asked to leave home at 16 years of age and the roots of the incident stretched back a long time.
"There was a family breakdown where feelings have rumbled on for some years," Mr Sullivan said. "That has never been far from the surface. Unfortunately these offences were clearly unsavoury and avoidable. Ms Newby accepts that with hindsight it could have been dealt with very differently indeed.
''On this particular occasion there had been a dispute for a number of years. The sister's wedding dress was in the home of Mr Haywood and he refused to give it back to the sister. Ms Newby received a call from a next door neighbour to say that there were a number of black bin bags in the front garden.
''It looks like they had a clear out and they jumped to the conclusion that the wedding dress could be in the bin bags. It turned out that it was just carpets.
"She went with her sister and her son and his friend to challenge them to request the items back. The son and friend were supposed to go to another house, but it didn't go as Ms Newby had expected. Things clearly went out of hand.''
Newby was also ordered to complete 30 days of rehabilitation activity and a nine-month alcohol treatment program, while Dunphy - who is currently working as a painter and decorator - was ordered to undertake 120 hours of unpaid work and 25 days of rehabilitation activity.
The defendants, both of Monks Lane, Bolton, were banned from contacting the Haywoods for three years until the terms of a restraining order.
Sentencing them Judge, Martin Walsh said: ''There had been a family dispute over money which had simmered away for some time and during the incident itself there were four people attending the address, including you two.
''Damage was caused to the windows of the house, and Mr Haywood was struck to the head as he opened the door. Fortunately, the injury was not as serious as it may have been - but it was an attack on someone in their own home.
"Ms Newby, you encouraged what was going on at the time. This was a terrifying incident for Mr and Mrs Haywood.''
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