Woman beat up boyfriend’s father after he ‘manhandled’ her and her sister

She was 'seven out of 10' drunk at the time, she said.

A woman and her dad beat her boyfriend’s father in a ‘prolonged, persistent and nasty’ assault for allegedly ‘manhandling’ her and her sister.

Sarah Crowe, 25, ‘saw red’ when she leapt at Christopher Ellams, in his 50s, at a social club in Runcorn, Cheshire, last year.

She accused the man of assaulting her sister during a booze-fuelled sports award ceremony.

Christopher lay defenceless on the floor while Sarah – who was ‘seven out of 10’ drunk – kicked him repeatedly after her own dad, Paul, punched him.

He was left with a cut to his head and a cut under his eye, Warrington Magistrates Court heard.

Christopher’s son, Chris, had to drag Sarah away from him before police arrested the daughter-dad duo on October 8 night.

A sober Sarah later told police: ‘I kicked my boyfriend’s dad because he hit my younger sister and I saw red.

‘I do not have a relationship with my boyfriend’s dad – it’s non-existent.’

Paul added: ‘I should have dealt with it differently. I am sorry for what I have done.’

The court heard how Christopher had been accused of striking Sarah and her unnamed sibling during a dart presentation in the Runcorn War Memorial club.

Though the prosecution said there was no surveillance footage showing this taking place, they accepted the allegation of assault involving the younger sister.

CCTV footage from inside and outside the club showed Sarah arguing with Christopher inside.

But the dust-up escalated into a full-on brawl, leading the manager to phone the police at around 12:30am, said prosecutor Angela Blackmore.

‘The altercation escalates and moves outside when Mr Crowe is seen to start punching Mr Ellams,’ she said.

‘Both ended up on the floor and at this point, Sarah Crowe becomes involved. She kicks the complainant several times before being dragged away by her partner, who is the son of the victim.

‘In relation to the victim, he was taken to hospital and both parties were arrested. The victim does not make a complaint but he sustained an injury to his forehead, a cut to the middle of his forehead, and a large cut underneath his right eye.’

‘Miss Crowe did make a comment,’ Blackmore said, adding: ‘She said she saw red. She indicated she’d had a significant amount to drink.

‘She described herself as seven out of 10 on the scale of drunkenness.’

Sarah and Paul’s lawyer, Peter Green, said: ‘It’s fair to say that an influencing factor in this as far as Miss Crowe is concerned is the amount she had to drink. She accepts full responsibility for her behaviour and is remorseful.

‘Mr Crowe also accepted full responsibility for the incident.’

Green said it was ‘fair’ to say that Christopher ‘had assaulted both Sarah and also her younger sister and that was communicated to Mr Crowe’.

‘Obviously, he was not very happy about it. It is against that backdrop when the incident occurs,’ he said.

‘There is a degree of provocation there. Certainly, it does not excuse what has gone on. Mr Crowe is very clear he does not want that to be used as some sort of justification, but it’s an explanatory factor.

‘It was not completely unprovoked. It’s fair to say, if their daughters are manhandled or abused in any way most fathers are not going to be very happy about it.’

Sarah admitted affray and her father pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

They were both sentenced to a year in jail suspended for two years and ordered to pay £307 and a victim surcharge.

Sarah was ordered to clock 100 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation service.

Justice of the peace Gillian Beckett said the attack ‘crossed the custody threshold because of the prolonged, persistent and nasty’.

But he suspended the jail terms because of the ‘realistic prospect of rehabilitation’.

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