A MAN from Rhyl was jailed after admitting to breaching a restraining order against his mother on three separate occasions.

Jake Orritt, 30, of Vale Road, was sentenced to 26 months’ imprisonment at Mold Crown Court today (February 2).

Prosecuting, Rosemary Proctor told the court of how Mr Orritt had been given a restraining order on acquittal, prohibiting him from contacting Barbara Orritt, 66, and going within 100m of her address.

At 7.45pm on August 3, 2022, Mrs Orritt saw her son appear in her front room, asking her for £20; she refused to give him this money, and asked him to leave.

Mr Orritt then went to the fish tank in her front room, and threatened to kill her fish if he didn’t give her the money.

He reached into the tank before appearing to squeeze a fish, but stopped when Mrs Orritt’s grandson entered the room and asked him to leave.

As he left, Mr Orritt entered his mother’s rear garden and punched two panels out of her fence.

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On December 26, 2022, Mrs Orritt was in her kitchen emptying her fish tank when her son entered her home though a back door.

He called her a “f***ing c***”, before walking to the bowl where the fish were kept while the tank was emptied, picked up cleaning spray, and sprayed it into the bowl.

Mrs Orritt screamed at him to stop, before he came up behind her, put his hands around her neck, and squeezed for roughly five seconds while she was pressed up against her sink.

She described the level of pressure applied as “eight” on a scale of one to 10, and while there was no medical evidence of injury, she said there was “soreness”.

After releasing her, he began shouting and swearing, and used a jug in her living room to scoop up stones from her fish tank, before throwing them outside.

Another of Mrs Orritt’s sons said he could hear the defendant calling her a “s**g” and a “b***h” on the phone after she had called him.

He held the door closed as she attempted to leave the house, before walking away after telling her he had taken her back door key.

On January 11, Mrs Orritt left her house to deliver a birthday present to a friend, using a walking aid with four wheels to assist her.

As she walked down the street, she heard her son shouting “mum” from the bay window of her house.

He jumped down and rode his bike towards her before saying he was “starving” and asked for her keys to get food, which she refused to give him.

Mr Orritt retaliated by reaching towards her handbag to tie it around the handles of her walking aid, but she pushed his hand away.

He told her he wished she was dead, then rode away, before being arrested later that day.

Proctor said Mr Orritt has 10 previous convictions for 12 offences including criminal damage, assault by beating, and affray.

A victim statement from Mrs Orritt said she feels “scared” of her son and what he might do, is afraid of going out by herself, and tends to stay home much more.

She added she doesn’t feel safe, even in her own home, and has her grandson stay at her house for a few nights a week.

Mrs Orritt acknowledged this is a “terrible way to live life”, adding she struggles to sleep and “feels exhausted all the time”.

Proctor added: “The trouble that Mr Orritt has caused her has had a massive detrimental impact on her quality of life.”

Defending, Nicholas Williams said Mr Orritt has accepted full responsibility for his actions, having pleaded guilty at the earliest possible opportunity.

He added Mr Orritt, in fact, wanted a custodial sentence to use the time “positively and constructively”, with his cocaine use prior to his arrest “totally out of control”.

Mr Orritt was said to have attempted to enlist on a family engagement course, and wants to increase his prospects of staying sober and offence-free upon his release.

Once he has served his time in prison, Williams said, he plans to relocate away from Denbighshire and “start afresh”.

Williams added: “It’s a positive plan that, if he manages to succeed in following, will stop him returning to these courts, and give his mother some peace of mind.”

A statement from his brother added: “When Jake is sober, he’s fine, but once he’s had some alcohol, he’s horrible to my mum, always blaming her for things which are, in fact, his fault.”

Mr Orritt had told a probation officer he was on a “cocaine-fuelled binge” at the time of his offences.

Sentencing, Judge Rhys Rowlands also imposed a new five-year restraining order on Mr Orritt, effective immediately, as well as issuing him with a surcharge.

He told Mr Orritt his actions were “all the more shocking, because the victim was your own mother”.

Judge Rowlands added: “You concede that, through life, she has tried to do the best for you and be good to you.

“I have no doubt she is a lady with simple pleasures, and leads an honest life, as do the rest of your family.”