A FLINTSHIRE man struggling to cope with life outside of prison threw a rock through a shop window and called the police himself so he could be locked up.

Mark Wayne Williams, 45, was only released from prison in October, having completed a six year sentence, but had nowhere permanent to live, having previously failed to co-operate with the probation service, including when being recalled to prison on two other occasions.

He was appearing at Mold Magistrates Court via custody, where he pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage, and another in relation to an incident when he used threatening words or behaviour, causing a person to fear violence, at a health centre in Connah’s Quay.

Justin Espie, prosecuting, told Mold Magistrates Court, how Williams had gone to the Fron Road surgery at around 3pm on November 6 in order to register as a patient.

However, he was told by a member of staff that he wasn’t able to do that, due to him living outside of the catchment area, which caused him to become agitated and lose his patience.

Williams shouted abuse at several members of staff before he struck a leaflet stand, which almost hit the secretary.

Mr Espie went on to say how the incident had left the staff at the surgery feeling “on edge” and “less confident” in carrying about their day to day duties, especially in the winter, with the dark nights, with one saying she no longer felt comfortable dealing with confrontation.

On December 12, Williams turned up at the Farmfoods store on Holywell Road in Flint, picked up a rock and after throwing it on a number of occasions, managed to break one of the windows, before immediately phoning the police to tell them what he had done. Williams waited outside the store for two hours, where he sat drinking a bottle of wine, and when officers arrived at the scene, told them he was struggling to adjust to life outside prison and wanted to be locked up again.

Lloyd Stradling, defending, told the court that the case was highly unusual, in that he would actually be seeking to convince the bench that his client should be sent to custody.

He said that Williams’ problems were very indicative of today’s society and how his struggles to cope with life outside prison had some similarities with the protagonist in the feature film, I, Daniel Blake.

Mr Stradling explained how the defendant is unfamiliar with technology and as a result, struggles with the demands of modern life, such as having to complete online forms, and went to the surgery in Connah’s Quay because it was the one he was registered at as a child.

He said: “He was told he wasn’t able to register at that location because he lived outside of the catchment area.

“He acted out of pure frustration and was even heard shouting at the staff, “why won’t somebody help me?”.”

Mr Stradling went on to say how Williams had recently been robbed and beaten up while living on the streets, a problem he said was being made even worse by the loss of night shelters in the Flintshire area due to a lack of resources. He said his client had been cold, wet and had nowhere else to turn when he decided, in desperation, to throw the rock through the window of the Farmfoods store in order to be arrested.

In making the unusual request for his client to be placed into custody, Mr Stradling told the magistrates how a further period in prison would at least provide Williams with a roof over his head and provide him with the opportunity to resolve his problems with alcohol.

Andy Stubbs, chair of the bench, said he disagreed with Mr Stradling’s comparison to the character in the film I, Daniel Blake as he ordered him to serve eight weeks in jail for the incident at the surgery in Connah’s Quay.

He said: “The character in I, Daniel Blake was an honourable man, but you are a prolific offender.

“You’ve been given plenty of chances and the incident in the surgery must have been very frightening for those people working there.”

Williams was also handed a four-week sentence for the criminal damage charge, which will run concurrently, and must pay a surcharge of £122.