'Peacemaker' neighbour was hit in the face

Sean Taylor admitted assaulting Marie Jenkins at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court following an incident in Leigh last month.

The court heard Taylor, 26, was involved in a lengthy row with his girlfriend at her address on Kent Street, Ince, which was next door to the victim’s home.

When the argument became particularly heated, with Taylor and his partner shouting at each other in the garden some time after 9.30pm, 57-year-old Ms Jenkins went outside to try to calm down the situation.

She told her next-door neighbour that the arguments with Taylor needed to stop for the sake of her children.

Prosecuting, Steve Woodman said that Taylor then pushed his partner away and struck Ms Jenkins a single blow to the face which, fortunately, did not result in her being injured.

Mr Woodman read out an impact statement from the victim in which she said she felt “somewhat upset by what happened” and said she was only trying to help defuse the situation.

She also said that the incident had left her scared.

The court heard that Taylor had now moved out of the property and had found accommodation in Newton-le-Willows.

Defending, Nick Lloyd, said that the relationship was an unhealthy one and that the disagreements were fuelled by alcohol, with both Taylor and his partner admitting that they had been drinking heavily in the run-up to the serious disagreement.

Mr Lloyd said thta his client could not recall anything of what had happened that evening but pleaded guilty as he was not in a position to challenge the victim’s version of events.

The court was also reminded that the assault was only one punch and that Ms Jenkins had not been hurt by it.

The magistrates fined Taylor £80 and also ordered him to pay £50 compensation, £85 in costs and a £30 victim’s surcharge. The £245 will be deducted from his benefits.