A dad lost his temper following an incident between children at a birthday party and attacked the host of the celebration using his martial arts skills, a court has heard. Former solider Edward Barber armed himself with a kitchen knife and threatened to “cut up” the other father before delivering a powerful roundhouse kick to his victim. Swansea Crown Court heard that when police went to the defendant’s house to arrest him he told officers that he understood the law and that they were acting illegally in detaining him. Sending the 38-year-old Port Talbot man to prison, a judge told him he had “completely lost control” on the day in question and said only an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate.
Caitlin Brazel, prosecuting, said on April 20 this year, the defendant’s daughter attended a 10th birthday party in a neighbour’s garden but returned home early after having apparently been bullied. She said the defendant spoke to the father of the child having the party over their shared rear garden wall and there was a verbal confrontation between the two men. The court heard Barber then picked up a knife and got into his partner’s car – which he was not insured to drive – and drove around the block to the front of the house where the party was being held. The host of the party came outside, and a further confrontation developed on a communal grassed area during which the defendant threatened to “cut up” the other man while in possession of what witnesses later described as a kitchen knife with a blade around six inches in length.
The prosecutor said Barber was then seen to deliver a powerful “martial arts-style roundhouse kick” which connected with the victim’s shoulder, and to throw a number of punches which missed their target. She said the incident had been witnessed by several attendees of the party but it appeared the children at the party in the rear garden did not see it. After the attack, the defendant drove back home, but a short time later the police were at his front door. When he was arrested on suspicion of assault and was cautioned, he told officers they were acting illegally and that he understood the law.
In his subsequent interview, he accepted driving to his neighbour’s house but denied carrying out any assault, saying the other man had “charged” at him and he had only restrained him. In an impact statement read to the court, the father Barber assaulted said he had been left suffering with sleepless nights as a result of the incident outside his home, and he said he and his family were now in the process of moving. Edward Barber, of Western Avenue, Sandfields, Port Talbot, previously pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), possession of a knife, driving without insurance, and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence when he appeared in court for sentencing via videolink from Swansea prison.
He has 11 previous convictions for 23 offences, including possession of a bladed article and possession of an offensive weapon from 2006, and multiple counts of driving while disqualified again from 2006. Hannah George, for Barber, said the defendant had served four years in the Royal Green Jackets regiment including a tour of Northern Ireland and had undergone training in Iraq but had not actively served in that country as he had been discharged from the Army following his appearance in court in 2006. She said after leaving the military Barber had a “chequered history,” but after serving a prison sentence in 2018 had moved his family to Wales “to put the past behind him and to build a better life for himself and his family.”
She said at the time of the incident the defendant had been “struggling emotionally” following the hospitalization of his newborn child and she said he “bitterly regrets” what he did on the day in question. The barrister said a reference before the court from Cimla football club showed his involvement in the community and showed he was a valued part of the team. Recorder Simon Hughes sentenced Barber to 12 months in prison for possession of the knife and eight months for the ABH to run concurrently, with a 20 per cent discount for his guilty pleas. Barber will serve up to half the 12 months in prison before being released on licence, and he was also made the subject of a restraining order banning him from contacting his victim for the next five years.