A MAN who was facing eviction ended up hitting his former partner with a crowbar after he went round to her house to ask for a tent he could live in, a court heard.

Benjamin West, 27, turned up at Samantha Jones’ property in Maes Emlyn in Pen-y-Ffordd near Holywell having consumed 15 cans of Stella Artois and smoked around eight cannabis joints.

When he phoned her to tell her he was getting evicted from his flat in Flint and needed the family tent she warned him she would ring the police if he came around.

But in the ensuing altercation when he did so he began swinging the crowbar which made contact with Ms Jones’ back.

“She suspected he was under the influence and felt pressured and uneasy. She suspected he was here for a 'kick off',” said prosecutor Robert Blakemore.

“She told him she didn’t know if the tent was in pieces because the children had been playing with it.”

His former partner said West looked “like a man possessed” in the alleyway outside her house and was complaining that he "had nobody" or "nowhere to go".

He picked up a crowbar from a tool kit he had with him and started hitting it against the wall with force, stopping before it made contact with his ex.

Ms Jones said in a statement: “I was fearing for my life and as I shut the door I felt the metal bar hit my back.

“I’m not sure whether he hit me or whether it was careless, but he shouldn’t have been in my alleyway, least of all threatening me with a crowbar.”

Ms Jones was unhurt by the bar which West claimed to police he picked up in self-defence after his ex-partner swung a wooden pole at him.

When he was arrested police found West had a small amount of cannabis on him.

Probation officer Leah Cosgrave said drink and drugs as well as the looming eviction affected his thinking on the day.

West, 27, of Trelawney Square, pleaded guilty at court in Mold to assault by beating and possession of cannabis on November 28.

Rebecca Boswell, defending, said: “Although it was a metal bar that made contact with her she (Ms Jones) doesn’t believe he intended to do it and there was no physical injury, which was very lucky for the defendant.

“He was going through a turbulent time. He was not in contact with his children and he was also undergoing an eviction.

“He has managed to address his alcohol issues and he is getting offers to start working again.”

North East Wales magistrates ordered West complete 80 hours of unpaid work and undergo 30 days of rehabilitation activities as part of a two-year community order.

He was also told to attend the 'Building better relationships' course and they placed him under a two-year restraining order.

For the drugs offence he was fined £80, while he was also told to pay costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £85.