A SERIAL offender who assaulted a man and his family while they were shopping and followed them back to their home has been jailed.

Martin Champion, aged 21, of Glastonbury Gardens, Radcliffe, wept in the dock after being sentenced to six months in prison at a hearing at Bolton Crown Court on Monday.

He had confronted Martin McLeod, Rebecca Duckworth, and their two-year-old daughter in the Nisa store, in Countess Lane, Radcliffe, on August 23 last year and swung a pick axe handle at their car as they drove away.

After recruiting the help of his father James, the pair followed the family to their house in Park Street, where another confrontation ended with them smashing the rear window of the car.

The court heard that there had been a “long-standing grudge” between Champion and Mr McLeod, which related to the defendant’s use of cannabis.

He was appearing in court for the 11th time, after previously being convicted of offences including theft, assault, affray, burglary and possession of drugs.

He had pleaded guilty to affray, while his father pleaded guilty to a section four public order offence.

James Champion, aged 64, of the same address, was given a 12-month community order and told to undertake 80 hours of unpaid work, as well as paying £180 in compensation and a £60 court surcharge.

Judge Timothy Stead said of Martin Champion: “It is most unimpressive to see someone of your age making their 11th appearance before the court. 

“What you did here in your pursuit of a grievance with another man was to take up the dispute when he was shopping with his family.

“The threats, which must have affected the child present, were then advanced by you when you followed them for some distance and broke the rear window of their car after recruiting your father.
“You did this in public and in the presence of a child and, with your record, a prison sentence is inevitable.”

Defending, Mark Friend told the court Champion, a joiner, had begun to turn his life around since the incident, having turned his back on drugs and entered a stable relationship.

He said: “His aim is now to ensure that these matters are in the past. 

“He has done what he can in the past year to get on with his life.

“This was a case of his emotions getting the better of him and settling a long-standing grudge. 

“His actions over the last 13 months do him far more credit.

“His life has gained an element of structure and stability and he is in a settled relationship.

“The defendant has started to grow in a way that is belated but welcome. 

“His desire to educate himself and turn his back on cannabis shows he has grown up an awful lot since the summer of 2014. 

“For the first time in a long time the future looks bright for him.”

Of James Champion, Judge Stead added: “You weren’t the leader in this and what you did was more modest, but your role in this incident was not a good one.”

Martin Champion was also ordered to pay an £80 surcharge.