A 75-year-old man has received a suspended jail sentence after using a ‘home-made pump’ to spray excrement into a Braintree couple’s home in a ‘revenge attack’.

Geoffrey Holroyd-Doveton, of South Street, Rotherham, pleaded guilty to criminal damage worth £4,000 at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court, today.

The court heard a feud had erupted between the defendant and his former friend Donald Wicks two-and-a-half years ago during Holroyd-Doveton’s divorce from his wife.

Prosecuting, Lesla Small said Holroyd-Doveton had travelled down from South Yorkshire to carry out the late night attack on the home of Mr Wicks and his husband Richard while they were away on holiday on New Year’s Day this year.

She said: “It would seem that the defendant defecated into a container and kept that for six to eight weeks.

“He had constructed a home-made pump and used that pump through the letter box.

“Using that pump he has pushed the excrement through the letter box causing that to splatter over the hallway, up the stairs and onto the back wall.”

Ms Small said CCTV had captured Holroyd-Doveton outside the couple’s home on the night of the offence.

Speaking in court, Donald Wicks described the incident as ‘despicable’ and ‘disgusting’.

He said: “It immediately caused me to feel very anxious and unable to sleep due to the stress. “I felt my personal space, our home, had been invaded.”

The court heard Holroyd-Doveton believed Mr Wicks had contributed to the break up of his marriage, telling police he though Mr Wicks had ‘ruined his life’.

In mitigation Emily Hughes said Holroyd-Doveton had felt isolated and depressed following his divorce, having had to move from his home in Braintree and was ‘incredibly sorry for his actions’.

Sentencing Holroyd-Doveton to an eight week suspended sentence, with 80 hours of unpaid work, presiding magistrate Michael Cadman said: “This is a pretty horrific offence.

“I think it is almost as bad as I have seen in my 30 years as a magistrate.”

Holroyd-Doveton was also given an indeterminate restraining order not to contact or go within one mile of the Wicks’ home, was made to pay £500 to each of them in compensation.