A MAN has been banned from contacting his mother for two years after flying into a rage and hitting her with a metal baseball bat.

Darren Huntley, aged 32, got into a furious row with his mother Julie Mansfield at her home in Dart Road, Ronkswood, Worcester, on May 26, Worcester Magistrates Court was told.

Mark Johnson, prosecuting, said Huntley, who was living in a caravan at the property at the time, had a problematic relationship with his mother and on this occasion the row got “well and truly out of hand”.

Huntley shouted abuse at her before going out and arming himself with the aluminium baseball bat.

Mr Johnson said he had then come back in and “gone crazy”, smashing a cabinet containing his mother’s prized porcelain collection.

During this time the bat hit Mrs Mansfield, leaving her with a black eye and a swollen and bruised left cheek.

Mr Johnson said she was crying and scared for her safety as Huntley stood there shaking and making threats.

Huntley had drunk two shots of vodka and four cans of Stella Artois but insisted he was in control, said Mr Johnson.

Huntley, now living in Denmark Road, Gloucester, said it “all came to a head” and that he regretted what had happened, particularly as it happened in front of his three-year-old nephew.

David Ollivere, defending, said Huntley was a complex individual who had depression and a personality disorder that affected him greatly.

Huntley had suffered a breakdown in the relationship with his partner the night before and Mr Ollivere said: “In times of stress, he struggles to cope.”

He said Huntley had expressed remorse and that it was a reckless assault rather than an intentional one. Huntley had moved to Gloucester to make a fresh start.

Chairman of the bench, Stuart Allerton, described the incident as a serious assault.

He sentenced him to an 18-month community order with supervision and an obligation to complete a 36-day domestic violence programme.

He ordered him to pay £200 compensation and £160 costs and issued a restraining order banning him from contacting his mother or entering Dart Road for two years.