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National
Sara Nichol

Elswick mum swung baseball bat when altercation between parents turned violent

A mum armed herself with a baseball bat and waved it in the air when an altercation between sets of parents turned violent.

Churnette Symington swung the weapon at fellow adults after mums and dads became involved in an argument between teenage girls in Newcastle's West End.

A court was told that the 52-year-old and parents of girls from both sides of the fallout clashed in the street during the middle of the day in May this year, when the rest of the country was in the middle of the coronavirus lockdown.

Mother-of-seven Symington was later arrested after she was captured on CCTV swinging the baseball bat around "in a threatening manner".

The mum, of Saint John's Road, Elswick, pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon when she was in the dock at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court on Wednesday but claimed it was to "protect her daughter".

And her solicitor, Andy O'Hanlon, said incidents of a similar nature were not uncommon in Benwell.

He said: "These sorts of incidents are not unknown in the Benwell area - they happen on a regular basis. It would be different if it was another area of the town.

"People see them all the time and are not exactly shocked by them but it shouldn't have happened."

The court heard that the offence happened on Beech Street, in Benwell, on May 23.

Ben Woodward, prosecuting, said: "There is a dispute between teenage girls in an Asda store.

"The parents have gone to deal with the issues themselves and a number of them have baseball bats.

"The defendant is captured on CCTV with a baseball bat and swinging it around."

Mr O'Hanlon said Symington had the weapon to protect her daughter.

The solicitor added: "She was handed a baseball bat and was trying to ward off another parent. There is an element of self-defence but it goes beyond reasonable."

Magistrates gave Symington a 12-month community order and a four-month curfew between the hours of 6pm and 6am.

She was also ordered to pay a £95 victim surcharge.

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