No jail for boyfriend who threatened to burn down campsite where he planned to propose
A holidaymaker who planned to propose to his girlfriend on a glamping trip to Wales instead ended up in a police cell after threatening to burn down the campsite.
Black Country barber Luke Wroe, 33, was told to stop crying in court after admitting two threats to burn down the site where he was staying.
He also admitted possession of cannabis and common assault on campsite owner Joanne Wallbanks.
Wroe became threatening after he was asked to leave the glamping site in Porthmadog because of fears about his behaviour towards his partner, Llandudno Magistrates Court heard on Monday.
The next day, the girlfriend was driven to Porthmadog railway station to travel home but Wroe had slept rough there overnight in a shelter.
Prosecutor Diane Williams said Wroe, of Wesson Gardens, Halesowen, became threatening and tried to spit on and kick the scared campsite boss at the station.
Defence solicitor Ben Jones said Wroe was upset and remorseful. He’d gone to Porthmadog to propose and found himself now in a “dire” situation.
District judge Gwyn Jones imposed a 20-week suspended jail term with a 12-week curfew and 120 hours unpaid work.
He must pay £400 compensation to Ms Wallbanks and £213 costs.
A five-year restraining order bans him from the Hadfer glamping site. He had been staying there last Friday when the crimes took place.
Judge Jones said that had any force connected with the assault victim, the sentence would have been immediate custody. He asked Wroe to stop crying in the dock.
“Whatever your intentions in relation to your partner, it’s clear when you were at the glamping site members of the campsite were not happy with regard to your behaviour,” the judge told him.
