Luke Samuel Farrell jailed for attack teen who broke court order

Burnley Crown Court heard Luke Samuel Farrell, 18, threatened to send someone to kill his ex’s family if he was jailed. The court heard Farrell was given the restraining order in January after taking a Honda Civic belonging to his ex partner’s mother, despite having never driven, and crashing it.

The order prevented Farrell from contacting his victim or entering Harwood Lane, Great Harwood, but the court heard he breached it on July 20 by going to his ex’s mother’s house. That incident was not reported.

Prosecuting, Richard Bennett said, on July 22, Farrell’s ex-partner saw him in the Bees Knees Pub in Burnley when she was with friends, including Josh Holt and Anthony Tither. Mr Bennett said Farrell said hello and went to another part of the bar. But in the early hours when all four were trying to get a taxi from Max Cabs, Burnley, trouble started.

Mr Bennett said: “The defendant said he was going to get into the complainant’s taxi. She said he couldn’t do that. The defendant began to argue with the complainant.”

The court heard how when Mr Holt attempted to intervene, Farrell, of St Hubert’s Road, Great Harwood, began swinging punches. Mr Holt was hit several times. Farrell then punched and headbutted Mr Tither.

Mr Bennett said: “The defendant said to the complainant if he went to prison he would send someone to kill her family. He told Josh Holt he would slit his throat. The defendant began to hit his own head against the door of the taxi office, causing him to fall.”

Farrell pleaded guilty to breaching a restraining order twice, two common assaults, committing a public order offence and two counts of breaching a suspended sentence and was jailed for 13 months.

Defending, Kevin Donnelly said: “At the heart of this young man’s offending is a relationship which has gone badly wrong. Perhaps the most significant thing I can say is that he now recognises there can be no future whatsoever to his relationship with the victim.”