Man hit with saucepan spared jail

A man who was repeatedly hit over the head with a saucepan by a woman he was trying to rob has been spared jail.

Ibrahim El-Hamady, 20, was hit by 23-year-old Laura Partington when she caught him in her bedroom in Berkeley Street, Gloucester.

After the pan broke, Miss Partington chased him down the road and pushed him off a bike he had tried to escape on.

El-Hamady pleaded guilty to burglary at Gloucester Crown Court and was ordered to do 150 hours' community service.

I suspect many right-thinking members of the public regret she didn't hit you harder Judge Jamie Tabor

Judge Jamie Tabor also handed him an 18-month community punishment order.

The sentencing of El-Hamady, a self-confessed cannabis addict, was deferred from May to allow him to attend a drug rehabilitation course run by the Prince's Trust.

In passing sentence, the judge said he had been impressed with the defendant's progress.

"It's quite plain that you have done your best and done well. If you hadn't, I would have kept my promise and sent you to prison.

"This has to be an opportunity to turn your life around. You're equipped with the necessary life skills, make sure you use them."

'I went mad'

Miss Partington said instinct had taken over after she found the intruder in her bedroom.

"I just went mad and started hitting him around the body and head with a saucepan. I can't remember how many times."

Judge Tabor told El-Hamady during his last hearing that many people would have approved of her no-nonsense approach to him.

"I suspect many right-thinking members of the public regret she didn't hit you harder."