A MAN who attacked his neighbour with a hammer in his own home has been spared prison.

Paul Lockley brandished the claw hammer and hit his victim with the weapon in the property on Priory Street, near to the town centre, during an attack on Friday, May 24.

On Tuesday, July 2, the 36-year-old was handed a six-month imprisonment suspended for a year at Warrington Magistrates Court after admitting assault and possession of an offensive weapon.

Lockley, of Wilderspool Causeway, was handed a 12-month supervision requirement and ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.

He was told to pay compensation of £100, a £115 victim surcharge and court costs of £85.

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Magistrates also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the hammer.