Woman accused of shattering neighbour’s window with hammer at 5am had it to ‘fix a table’

Deborah Ellis is also accused of threatening to kill the man living next door to her in south Belfast.

The 51-year-old defendant, of Breda Terrace, was granted bail but banned from going within three miles of the scene.

She faces charges of criminal damage, possessing an offensive weapon in public, and threats to kill over the incident on May 29.

Prosecution barrister Iryna Kennedy said the alleged victim phoned police at 5am to say Ellis was outside his home with a hammer.

Officers who went to the address discovered a window on the front door was shattered.

Ellis was located in a nearby grassy area with a cut finger and shouting about having issues with her neighbour, the court heard.

“She admitted being at the property and punching a window,” counsel said.

A hammer was found in a pathway close to the house, but Ellis insisted that she used her hand.

However, Mrs Kennedy submitted: “She said she had the hammer to fix a table, but the offences happened in the middle of the night.”

Concerns were also raised over alleged threats Ellis made to her neighbour.

“She stated that when she got out of custody she was going to kill the injured party,” the prosecutor added.

Conan Rea, defending, argued that his client could live with her mother, a retired nurse, six miles from the scene.

He also listed a series of health problems Ellis is said to suffer from.

Mr Justice Simpson responded: “She looks pretty pain-free in the photographs.”

Granting bail for the accused to stay at her mother’s home, the judge imposed an alcohol ban and barred her from contacting the alleged victim.

He further ordered: “She does not go within a radius of three miles of the address at which the alleged offences took place.”