A mum tried to scare off her neighbours with a Samurai sword after a brawl erupted in a row over dog poo.
Rebecca Lowe grabbed the ‘large’ weapon and began waving it in her front garden, Warrington Magistrates’ Court heard. The 30-year-old had been caught up in a brawl with a mother and daughter over claims they failed to clear up their pet’s mess.
During the bust-up with her neighbours outside her home in Runcorn, Lowe, a mum-of-four, was punched and had her hair pulled as she was dragged down her garden path. The two women involved were given police cautions for assault over the incident, the court was told.
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After the brawl, the women eventually left the scene but one of their boyfriend’s showed up and refused to move away from Lowe’s gate. She grabbed the Samurai sword and began waving it at him before he fled the scene.
Police officers were called to the scene. They discovered Lowe had a previous conviction for knife-related crime after she threatened to ‘slice’ a teenager from ‘ear to ear’ when he was suspected of vandalising her car.
In February 2020, she was sentenced to ten-months jail suspended for 18 months for offences of threatening behaviour and possession of a blade in a public place. During that incident, Lowe’s then partner had confronted a 16-year old boy in the street and accused him of smashing a window to their Vauxhall Vectra with a brick.
Lowe herself told the boy: “You’ve been bricking my window, you’re going to get sliced from ear to ear’ and was seen getting a nine inch kitchen knife from the vehicle. The terrified lad ran of but was so distressed he was ‘crying and hyperventilating’ when he rang his mother.”
On them most recent incident, Nicola Parr, prosecuting, told the court how on November 25 last year Lowe complained to her neighbours about their dog ‘doing its business’ outside her home. She said: “The defendant had been shouting out of her window towards a neighbour regarding dog faeces and words were exchanged.
“The neighbour left the area but later she and her daughter attended the defendant’s home address and a fight broke out between all the parties. The defendant can be seen having her hair pulled and being punched whilst she brandished a wooden pole.
“The women left the area and a male was left at that point at the scene. The defendant then retrieved a large samurai sword which she pulled out and approached the male, producing it towards him.”
In mitigation, Steve Coupe said: “She was at her home address with her four children and there had been an issue with dog owners leaving faeces outside her address. She shouted at a neighbour for not picking up after her dog and challenged her but there was an argument.
“The neighbour’s response was to come back with her young daughter and there was a fight. CCTV shows the neighbour and daughter attack the defendant on her own doorstep.
“The two neighbours pulled her by the hair and punched her and were trying to drag her along the path by her gate. The older female’s larger partner turned up.
“He was stood at the gate and wouldn’t leave. On CCTV she is seen to have a piece of wood and is shouting ‘leave, leave’ but he does not.
“It is at that point when she gets to the end of her tether and gets a broken old samurai sword from her house. She takes it out and points it at him and holds it by the end of the blade.
“The male does not seem particularly concerned and does not move. He stands for a good two minutes before he eventually moves away.
“She accepts that it was unwise to do so but she was in particular circumstances that she did not start. Her evidence is that she is attacked on her doorstep.
“Both the neighbour and her daughter received conditional cautions for the offence of assault against Miss Lowe.”
Lowe pleaded guilty to possession of an an offensive weapon. She was sentenced to a 12-month community order with requirements that she attends 20 days of rehabilitation activity.
Lowe was also ordered to pay £234 in costs and victim surcharge. A charge against her of using threatening behaviour was dropped.
JP Keith Gleave told her: “I think we understand what this came out of as you were effectively attacked on your doorstep. It would have been better if you had kept the sword in the house and left it alone – however, you did not do that.
“Having already had a knife offence on your record this was a stupid action.'”
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