A MENTALLY ill ex-soldier who attacked his father, spat at two police officers and threatened a bus driver with scissors has been jailed for a total of 19 months.
Troubled 36-year-old Peter Lomas was lodging at his parents’ Raffles Avenue home in Carlisle when trouble flared after he had taken his father to hospital.
After losing his temper in the early hours of October 25, Lomas pushed, slapped and then punched his father repeatedly in the face as he cowered on a sofa. His mother raised the alarm and a neighbour called police who arrived and were told by 75-year-old Mr Lomas – who suffered a fractured cheekbone and needed medical treatment – that his son had also head-butted him.
While in a custody cell, Lomas spat water at two police officers, one of whom had spoken of the incident’s impact upon him and said: “To be spat at is the lowest form of assault I can think of.”
Lomas’s father had later commented “he would have killed me if police hadn’t arrived”, and added: “We don’t deserve this.” His mother spoke of being in fear of her son, said “Peter needs help”, and added: “He was as good as gold before he was affected by the Army.”
Lomas admitted grievous bodily harm, damaging property at his parents’ home and two emergency worker assaults. He also pleaded guilty to having a bladed article and common assault in Lancashire on April 1 after pestering and then threatening the driver of a free shuttle bus with scissors, warning him: “I’m going to stab you with these.”
Lomas was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court this afternoon (WED) when his lawyer, Jeff Smith, said the crimes had been committed amid a deterioration of the defendant’s mental health.
Judge Nicholas Barker jailed Lomas and imposed a restraining order which bans him from communicating with or contacting his parents for three years.
