(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A protective dad thrust a dumbbell into a man’s head after he reportedly drunkenly pestered his son at home, a court heard.
Police went to a hotel in Church Street, Stanley, after reports of an assault on the morning of March 14.
An officer found the alleged victim bleeding from the head and “very distressed”, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Defendant David Riddell was identified as the suspect.
David Riddell received a three-year prison sentence for dumbbell attack on man who had reportedly been pestering his son at his home (Image: Durham Constabulary)
Another resident described how the victim was thrown out of a house due to his "extremely drunken behaviour".
Prosecutor Martin Towers said Riddell was arrested minutes later and shown CCTV footage clearly capturing the assault.
It showed Riddell approaching with what appeared to be a hammer but was later identified as a dumbbell.
He hit the man once in the head, knocking him to the ground, then kicked him before “withdrawing” from the scene.
A woman then joined in, landing several blows of her own, and the court was told she later received a police caution.
After seeing the footage, Riddell admitted he was the attacker and apologised.
The 39-year-old defendant, of Kay Street, Stanley, admitted wounding with intent and possessing an offensive weapon in public.
His 38 previous convictions were said to include five assault offences.
Mr Towers said Riddell had not supported the prosecution and had given no statement.
Stephen Constantine, in mitigation, confirmed the weapon was a dumbbell or part of one.
Mr Constantine told the court: “There’s clearly something of a history here.
“He was placed in a situation not of his own making and overreacted.
“He wasn’t involved in any of this until he and his partner received a report from his son that a man armed with a knife had threatened to slash someone with it.”
Mr Constantine said Riddell’s son told him the man had smashed a window with a bar and kept returning, prompting the defendant and his partner to go around.
Riddell picked up the discarded item, now said to be a dumbbell, hit the man once, kicked him and walked away.
Mr Constantine said Riddell was, “no stranger to the criminal justice system”, and had a history of domestic incidents.
But he said Riddell had worked on his anger-management problems to turn his life around.
Mr Constantine said alcohol and drug misuse had made those problems worse in the past.
But Riddell had recently stopped using both while working with his partner to control his anger.
Judge Richard Bennett said Riddell “unwisely” went to his son’s home after learning about the incident.
“What should have happened is that the police should have been called at that stage.”
The judge said Riddell hit the victim with enough force to knock him straight to the ground, then kicked him as he lay there.
“You were arrested and, to your credit, made immediate full admissions and expressed remorse.”
But the judge said a Probation Service report assessed Riddell as a high risk of committing violence against adults he knew and domestic partners.
The judge jailed Riddell for three years and told him: “If you go out armed with a weapon and use it to cause someone really serious harm you can expect to go to prison.”
At an earlier plea hearing, the court heard the victim had refused access to his medical records, leaving the CCTV footage as the key evidence.