Ceramicist smashed his pots in front of terrified wife after flying into rage because he couldn't watch rugby on TV, court hears

A ceramicist flew into a rage and smashed up his pots in front of his 'terrified' wife because he couldn't watch rugby on TV, a court heard.

Jeremy Broadway lost his temper when he returned home from lunch with wife Catherine and daughter Sam and found he could not watch the England-Australia match on TV.

His daughter would not help him search for it as she was tending to their cat at the time, it was said.

Mrs Broadway, who is also a potter, claimed her husband then became 'like somebody possessed' when she went to check their shared home studio and found some pots he had made had cracked on the stove.

The 70-year-old, a former public school teacher, allegedly reacted by storming into the studio and smashing the pots against a wall.

He was also claimed to have assaulted his 70-year-old wife by grabbing her by her apron and pushing her against the sink.

Mr Broadway then allegedly struck a door in anger with a metal telescope before backing his 34-year-old daughter into a corner, causing her to punch her father in self-defence.

Weymouth Magistrates' Court in Dorset heard the pair then barricaded themselves in the kitchen, blocking the door with furniture before calling the police.

Mr Broadway denied all of the allegations against him.

He told the court he had been channel hopping but the suggestion he flew into a rage over missing the rugby was 'almost laughable'.

He said he did not touch his wife in the pottery studio and denied smashing pots but said he was annoyed that some had 'exploded' on the stove and 'might have raised my voice.'

Magistrates said they found the evidence of Mrs Broadway and the couple's daughter 'not consistent' and contradictory at times. They were not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt so found Mr Broadway not guilty of two counts of assault.

The alleged incident happened at the family home in the village of Child Okeford, Dorset, on November 1 last year.

The court heard the family had rushed home from lunch because Mr Broadway wanted to watch the rugby.

But the match was not being shown on a mainstream channel and he struggled to find it without help, the court heard on Monday.

Giving evidence, Mrs Broadway said: 'That was enough for him to get angry. He said we should be helping more.

'At that point I decided to go to the pottery, I was going to get some space.'

She said she noticed some pots on the stove had cracked, but said that when she told him what had happened 'he went absolutely mad'.

Mrs Broadway told the court: 'He was blaming me, saying it was my fault, why wasn't I watching them? He just lost it.

'He picked up the pots and threw them against the wall. He grabbed my apron and then my clothing on my shoulders and pushed me against the sink.

'I managed to get away and ran indoors and shouted up to Sam, something like 'stay in your room'.

'The rage was so much, the face was red, the veins were up. I couldn't get through to him, I really tried.

'He started pounding on the door. We were both absolutely terrified. He was just like somebody possessed.'

Sam Broadway said she could not hear what was being said in the pottery studio but could hear her father 'screaming and shouting'.

She claimed he advanced towards her with a clenched fist and so she punched her father.

But Mr Broadway, who used to teach art at Bryanston School near Blandford, told the court he did not touch his wife in the pottery studio and denied smashing pots.

He also denied being the aggressor to Sam and said she had launched an unprovoked attack.

Mr Broadway said: 'Catherine came up and said there's something wrong with the fire. She had left it unattended and the damp pieces of pottery were starting to explode.

'Some had already blown, others hadn't so I tried to get them off quickly.

'My wife came in, I said 'I thought you were supposed to be keeping an eye on them?' It transpired she had been helping Sam.'

He said he went upstairs to watch the television, at which point his daughter 'charged straight towards me and immediately started hitting me quite hard, at least three times, maybe half a dozen.'

Mr Broadway added: 'I just tried to shield myself, I never tried to hit her.'

Catherine Lickley, defending, told the magistrates that in the 999 call Mrs Broadway told the handler she did not feel threatened and that her daughter often read situations incorrectly due to her autism.

Mrs Broadway said in the call they had not had any form of heated argument and no threat was made by her husband.

Ms Lickley also said Sam had punched Mr Broadway with such force she had fractured a bone in her hand, but had no other injuries that supported him assaulting her.