A businessman became embroiled in an ugly doorstep row with his ex-wife as he dropped off a bag of sweets for their daughter.
Simon Hayes was told to leave the treats on the doorstep of their £865,000 detached house on an exclusive cul-de-sac in Wilmslow, a court heard. But the 51-year-old instead began rowing with his former spouse and business partner and told her: "well you're scum, you're such a d**k'."
The seven-minute spat was captured on a mobile phone by the victim as the couple's daughter looked on, Warrington Magistrates' Court was told. Hayes' ex-wife subsequently filed a complaint to police.
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Last year, Hayes - who earns £50,000 a year as the managing director of the family's recruitment firm - was found drunk at the wheel of his stationary Tesla after drinking whisky inside the £58,000 Y Model car, out of fear of bumping into his estranged wife at the property. He was later convicted of being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle but was spared a road ban.
In a statement, the victim said: "Simon's behaviour put me constantly on edge. I was always second guessing about the mood he was going to be in. This was such an upsetting and stressful time when I needed support from him to help with the children.
"This has made my anxiety the worst it has been in a while, and hasn’t been helped by the recent loss of my mother to cancer. I also felt shame at the way he said he had been watching me when I was at my mother’s house, it was horrible to feel I was being watched without my knowing.
"The names he called lowered my self esteem and I felt worthless after it. I do not wish for any further interaction with Simon."
The couple, who have four children, were said to have endured had a 'very difficult' split last year. Tom McLaughlin, prosecuting said: "On the 26th of May 2022, the defendant walked around to his former family home from his current address nearby.
"He had received a message from his nine-year-old daughter to bring round some treats and he soon after turned up at the doorstep with a shopping bag full of treats. His former partner opened the door to him and told him bluntly to leave the treats on the doorstep and leave.
"She said that he couldn’t see the children and an argument ensued. The pair traded insults and the defendant said words to the effect of 'you're such a d**k' and 'well you’re scum'.
"This interaction was recorded by the complainant on her phone and during the entire argument their nine year old daughter was present. The argument lasted for seven minutes and after this the defendant departed for his own home.
"The complainant filed a complaint about the incident after the defendant left. She was concerned how this distressing moment would affect her children."
In mitigation, Hayes’ lawyer Paul Hodgkinson said: "This was the result of an acrimonious break up but there was no suggestion of any difficulty with regard to arguments or interference with the children. In fact my client loves his kids.
"He just walked round the corner with a shopping bag full of treats for his daughter who request them. But when he got to the door his former partner said you can leave them on the doorstep, and that he couldn’t see the kids.
"There was shouting going both ways and the language used was not unusual in the relationship, although he does not condone or seek to condone the language he used."
The court heard how last November, Hayes was given 10 points on his driving licence and was fined £960 at Crewe Magistrates' Court in connection with an incident the previous September. He tested almost three times over the legal alcohol limit after police found him drinking a bottle of whiskey at the wheel of his car while parked up next to a nature reserve.
The court heard how earlier that day, he had cleared out his belongings from the family home in preparation for the house sale and one of the children was described as having a 'breakdown'. Mr Hodgkinson, who also represented Hayes on that occasion said at the time: "He had gone through a very painful day and the children were incredibly upset, not just with the upheaval of marriage breakdown but losing the family home where they had grown up.
"The reason he was in the car park was that his wife still had access to the family home. Because they were emptying the family home and it was an acrimonious split, the defendant could not go to his home because he would have met his wife and things would have gotten into trouble.
"He thought discretion was the better part of valour so he stayed in the carpark and he began to drink the whisky. Lots of his belongings were in the vehicle because he had spent the time before clearing out the family home.
"Perhaps this puts a different gloss on what appeared to be the case at first blush. This is not a defendant who has a problem with alcohol. He made a terrible mistake."
Hayes, of Mopmakers Green, Wilmslow, was fined £640 at Warrington Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to using abusive behaviour. He was also ordered to pay £184 in costs and a victim surcharge.
JPs refused the victim's request for a restraining order. It is thought the couple's divorce has been finalised and the former family house has since been sold.
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