Wife locks herself in garden shed after husband 'pulled her hair'

Pensioner, 79, whose wife hid in garden shed after he ‘pulled her hair’ during row about alcoholic son avoids jail after court hears he’s suffering depression and ‘early stages of dementia’

• Michael Appleton, 79, admitted pulling his wife’s hair in body camera footage 
• Warrington Magistrates’ Court heard he has ‘depression’ and ‘early dementia’

An elderly woman was forced to take refuge in her garden shed after her husband of 29 years pulled her hair in a row over her alcoholic son, having previously thrown a hot cup of tea at her. 

Retired student accommodation manager Michael Appleton, 79, pulled the hair of his spouse Sandra after he snapped during an argument about her son getting into trouble with police.

Officers attended the couple’s home in Winsford, Cheshire to find Mrs Appleton had locked herself inside the shed, explaining when questioned: ‘He pulled my hair.’

The victim’s son Stephen is an alcoholic, whose behaviour had led to the couple changing the locks on their doors, changing mobile phone numbers and putting the local police on ‘speed dial’ in case he turned up at their home. 

At Warrington Magistrates’ Court Appleton admitted assault and was conditionally discharged for two years. Mrs Appleton, who is also in her 70s, did not support the prosecution, despite a previous conviction from when he threw a cup of tea at her.

Michael Appleton, 79, pulled his wife Sandra’s hair during a row about her alcoholic son, and was conditionally discharged for two years after pleading guilty 

The couple, who have been married for 29 years, were arguing about the actions of Mrs Appleton’s son, Stephen, who is an alcoholic 

Police went to the property on February 20 over claims Stephen had been lying to officers in an unrelated investigation.

Yvonne Dobson, prosecuting, said Appleton told police when they arrived that he had had an argument with his wife. 

‘Sandra was located in the garden shed and she had locked herself in. The defendant was instructed to stay inside the address by the officers and the victim then unlocked the shed and made a disclosure. She stated, “He pulled my hair.”

Appleton then admitted pulling the victim’s hair on body camera footage, before being taken into custody for interview. 

Ms Dobson confirmed that Appleton has a previous conviction for assault occasioning actual bodily harm against his wife, for which he was fined but said no restraining order or compensation had been asked for by Mrs Appleton. 

In mitigation Appleton’s lawyer Wendy Shurrock said, ‘The complainant does not support this allegation. She was found in the shed, but in terms of physical harm or distress there’s no evidence at all, apart from knowing she went to the shed.

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‘The defendant and complainant accepted that they had an argument that resulted in him pulling her hair. They’ve been together for 29 years. He has been on bail for this for 100 days and that itself is quite a punishment for this defendant. He is very upset that he has been away from his wife of 29 years for so long.

‘A condition of his bail was that he was not to contact her and he is very worried about her. .

‘His wife has a son, his stepson and when they got together, her son was a teenager. Unfortunately, the son has become an alcoholic. 

‘There are ongoing issues with Stephen causing a great deal of stress to this family unit, so much so that they have changed the lock on the doors and changed mobile phone numbers. 

‘Mr Appleton says that he has been threatened. Police are on speed dial should he approach their house and it was him they were arguing about. They both accepted they were having a row about Stephen. His wife did not contact police.

‘There was a previous incident when he threw a hot cup of tea which did land on his wife. He pleaded guilty on a reckless basis as he had no intention to do it, but it had burnt her.

The lawyer said Appleton, who is 79, was struggling with memory problems and is waiting for a brain scan to check for signs of dementia.  

‘He describes how he goes to the supermarket but when he gets there he cannot remember which shop he was going to go to. He has seen his GP who has prescribed sleeping medication because he was not sleeping.

‘He is also on antidepressants. He is very well aware of the changes going on. Together with the stress and the medical issues that the defendant has, he accepts and takes full responsibility for his actions and is very remorseful.’

‘He is now in the care of a GP with an ongoing investigation of his health. He is also on medication for depression and sleeping medication.

‘If there is a risk of this happening again, he knows what to do. He will leave the house and go for a walk.’

Appleton was also ordered to pay £146 in costs and a victim surcharge.

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