Husband in court again after attacking wife for second time this year

Basil Reid was jailed for ten months in February and as part of his sentence he was banned from contacting his wife Catherine, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

However in September she visited him at his home in Wherstead Road in Ipswich to drop off household items for him.

While she was there “things went downhill” and he started hitting her, said Juliet Donovan, prosecuting.

Mrs Reid suffered bruising to her face, hand and arm as a result of the attack and at her request her husband of 56 years contacted the police, said Miss Donovan.

Reid admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and breach of a restraining order was given a six month prison sentence suspended for 12 months.

Sentencing him Judge David Goodin said Mrs Reid had placed her husband in breach of the restraining order by going to his home and suggested she should be advised about visiting him in the future.

Joanne Eley, for Reid, said he had told her that he had let his wife in when she visited him, placing him in breach of the restraining order, because of the length of time they had been married.

She said he accepted full responsibility for the assault and knew his behaviour was totally wrong.

She said there were concerns about his cognitive functions but he couldn’t be assessed until he had got his drinking under control.

At Reid’s previous sentencing hearing in February the court heard that in November last year Reid had grabbed his wife by her coat and punched and kicked her at their home in Cotswold Avenue in Ipswich.

Reid had admitted assaulting his wife causing her actual bodily harm and the court heard it was his fourth conviction for assaulting her in less than a year.

The attack in November was caught on a webcam installed by the couple’s family following the earlier attacks and because of concerns about the couple falling over.