A MAN has been sentenced to a hospital order for treatment after twice breaching a restraining order put in place to keep his grandmother safe.

Dean Howells was accused of damaging an external door at Neyland Yacht Club on January 16, and the following day, it is alleged he broke into a portacabin at Neyland House Care Home and stole confectionary and food valued at around £15.

He was also accused of breaching a restraining order on January 16 and 17.

Howells, 42, of no fixed abode, was declared unfit to stand trial, and has been receiving mental health treatment in hospital.

Although Howells was unfit to stand trial, a hearing was held on July 14 to determine whether he had committed the offences.

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As a result of the defendant not being able to stand trial, the prosecution elected to proceed with only the breaches of the restraining order.

The jury deliberated for 12 minutes, and concluded that Howells had breached the restraining order on both occasions.

His case returned back before Judge Catherine Richards on Friday, September 1, where she imposed a hospital order, under section 37 of the Mental Health Act.

“I am satisfied that Mr Howells is suffering from a mental health disorder, namely paranoid schizophrenia,” she said.

Judge Richards also granted Howells’ grandmother a further two-year restraining order, expiring in December 2025.

Prosecutor Georgia Donohue previously told a jury that a restraining order had been put in place by Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on December 7, 2022.

However, just over a month later – on January 16 – Howells knocked on his grandmother’s door in Pembroke Dock asking to come in. When she refused, she shut the door and locked it.

Howells came back later, and “stated he wanted money and he would go away,” Ms Donohue said.

She gave him the money, and he left.

The next day, he returned and knocked on the door. His grandmother rang the police as “she did not want him in her property”, and Howells was arrested standing outside the address.

Defence barrister Matthew Murphy recommended the imposition of a section 37 hospital order, and did not oppose the extension of the restraining order.