DANIELLA Westbrook’s ex-boyfriend admitted assaulting his mother when he appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates Court yesterday, Wednesday (April 20).

Thomas Richards, 26, of Neath Road, Hafod, Swansea, was living with his parents in Narberth when the incident occurred.

The court heard that he had given his mother a “palm-off to the face” using the flat of his hand, caused her to have a black eye. His mother had come to pick him up after a night out in Haverfordwest.

Richards was due to face trial for assaulting both Christopher and Emma Richards on March 13, but changed his plea to guilty in respect of his mother. The charge relating to his father was dropped.

At an earlier court hearing, Richards admitted smashing a pane of glass in the back door of the family home on the day in question.

Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones described the matter as “very, very sad” and said he would be making an application for a six-month restraining order to prevent Richards from having any contact with his parents.

“Mr and Mrs Richards hope that after a cooling off period they may be able to re-build their relationship with their son,” Mr Pritchard-Jones explained.

“When the defendant came back to Pembrokeshire, his parents allowed him to stay with them, although their relationship wasn’t good.”

The prosecutor said the assault occurred when Richards called his mother at 6.30am, and asked her to pick him up from the Merlins Bridge roundabout in Haverfordwest.

“When Mrs Richards got to Merlins Bridge, Richards opened the passenger door, reached in to the centre console and grabbed her mobile phone,” said Mr Pritchard-Jones.

“She asked for it back and reached towards him. To stop her, Richards gave her a palm-off to the face, using the flat of his hand, and caused her to have a black eye. He was grinding his teeth and his body language and behaviour was very aggressive.”

Mr Pritchard-Jones said Richards then walked off with his mother’s phone.

“Mrs Richards went home, and she and her husband went looking for their son. Later that afternoon, Mr Richards returned home and realised his son was in the house, having smashed the back door glass to gain entry. There was a further altercation that lead to the police being called, and the defendant was arrested.”

Emma Richards took to the stand to say she was “disappointed” in her son and “worried about him constantly”.

“I tried to get him professional help for his drinking and other issues. I’m making this statement so he’ll seek help and listen to others regarding my concerns,” she said. “I find this hard, as when not in drink he’s a loveable, friendly person. When he doesn’t get his own way, he gets aggressive. I can’t go on accepting his behaviour.”

Mrs Richards also said news coverage of her son’s case had “upset” her, and she was concerned people were “gossiping” about her. Magistrates adjourned the case until April 27 to allow preparation of pre-sentence reports. Richards was released on conditional bail.