Magistrates have questioned the ambition of a Haverfordwest man who crawled through his girlfriend’s back-door panel after kicking it.

Benjamin Richards, of Bank Row, Dew Street, Haverfordwest, was due to stand trial at Haverfordwest magistrates court on Wednesday, but changed his plea to guilty to damaging a wooden door and a mobile phone the previous day.

Richards, 32, admitted breaking a mobile phone worth £120 belonging to Hayley Talman in Neyland on September 18 and damaging her door on September 27.

The court heard that the pair were an on-off couple and Richards grabbed her phone during an argument on September 18, and demanded to know who she was texting.

Vaughan Pritchard-Jones, prosecuting, said: “After he looked at it, he threw it against a chest of drawers, causing it to smash.”

He added that Richards had already bought Miss Talman a replacement.

Mr Pritchard-Jones told the bench that Miss Talman did not want to let Richards into her property on September 27 because he appeared to be in a ‘bad mood’.

He climbed through an out-house window, then kicked the back-door panel and crawled through into her kitchen.

Jonathan Webb, defending, told the court that Richards and Miss Talman were still in a relationship.

He added that Richards had ‘popped out’ the wooden panel to enter the house because he had concerns about Miss Talman’s safety and well-being, and had since put it back.

Magistrates imposed an 18-month conditional discharge and ordered Richards to pay £340 towards costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

The chairman of the bench said: “What an abysmal record you have got. Is this the way that you want to spend the rest of your life? Have you no ambition?

“You need to have a good sit down and think about where your life is going.”