A man has been ordered to stay away from his ex - after slashing her sofa with a meat cleaver.
Sean Flaherty admitted causing damage to the £3,000 sofa, purchased from weekly payment firm BrightHouse.
Kirklees magistrates heard that he attacked it in retaliation after his former partner Sophie Ghaufoor damaged some of his property. The incident happened at Miss Ghaufoor’s home.
Robert Campbell, prosecuting, explained that she and Flaherty had been in a relationship for three years but separated prior to the incident.
On January 13 Miss Ghaufoor was at home when Flaherty arrived and came into her bedroom.
He swore at her and ordered her to get back on her dating website before heading downstairs, taking the television with him.
Mr Campbell said: “She followed him downstairs, he returned from the kitchen and was carrying a meat cleaver.
“He used that to start slicing the corner sofa, slicing open the upholstery.
“There was a further argument between them and he repeated that she should get back on the dating site.”
Flaherty, 27, of Park Lea in Bradley, said that he’d gained access to the house with a set of keys and had nowhere else to go.
Mr Campbell told magistrates: “He said he had wanted to sleep on the sofa, however she kicked off with him and he grabbed the knife and damaged the sofa.
“The defendant said she’d damaged some of his property and so it was retaliation.”
Magistrates heard that the sofa was valued at £3,000.
However they did not order Flaherty to pay compensation because they did not have details of the rental agreement and how much Miss Ghaufoor was paying for the item.
They did sentence Flaherty to a six-week curfew on Friday and Saturdays between 4pm and 4am.
He has to complete 10 days of rehabilitation activities as part of a community order.
Magistrates made a restraining order banning him from contacting his ex or going to her home for six months.
Finally, he must pay £85 costs and £60 victim surcharge.
