£500 fine for Ballasalla man who threatened to burn house down

41-year-old got into dispute with ex-partner's neighbour

A Ballasalla man has been fined £500 after threatening to burn down another man’s property.

Steven Paul Wheeler, of The Paddocks, got into a dispute in Peel on 27 July.

The 41-year-old had gone to an address at Cronk Reayrt to drop off some of his ex-partner's possessions but ended up threatening to fight her neighbour telling him: “You won’t laugh when I burn your house down.”

At Douglas Courthouse he admitted using provoking behaviour – the court heard he’d told police he had no intention of carrying out the act.

Wheeler’s advocate told the court his client had been ‘accosted’ whilst he was in the porch and had seen ‘the red mist’ telling the court: “He accepts he should not have said what he said.”

Ordering Wheeler to pay prosecution costs of £125 Magistrates told him he’d gone to the property on ‘reasonable grounds’ adding: “However you allowed this situation to escalate.”