Tenant who made neighbour feel like HMO landing ‘was a toll road’ jailed for strangling her
Shaun Watson had been in the House of Multiple Occupancy for around 10 weeks before he attacked the woman.
A Telford man who made a fellow tenant feel like the landing of their HMO was a “toll road” has been jailed for twice strangling her and attacking her in a car with a “rock in a sock”.
Get the latest headlines delivered straight to your inbox with the Shropshire Star’s free newsletter
Shaun Watson, of no fixed abode, had been in the House of Multiple Occupancy for around 10 weeks before he twice attacked the woman in August of 2024, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard on Thursday.
The 37-year-old and his victim had been in a “casual sexual relationship”, Ms Susan Francis, prosecuting, told the court.
She said that the victim in the case had to pass Watson’s room to get to her own, adding that “she felt it was like a toll road as she had to do something every time she passed”.
She said on August 18, Watson began banging on his victim’s door, demanding to be let in.
“When she refused he started kicking the door,” said Ms Francis.
She said after repeated kicks the door broke and flew open and Watson began shouting abuse at his victim.
“He then grabbed her neck and pushed on her windpipe so she passed out briefly,” Ms Francis said. “He threw her around the room by her neck before he knelt over her and banged her head off the floor.”
She said the following day, the victim decided to leave the accommodation, but Watson again attacked her as she was packing up and “grabbed her by the throat again” but in a statement the victim conceded it had “not been as bad as the first time”.
However, the prosecution barrister added that when a friend came to collect the woman, Watson ran out of the HMO brandishing a “sock in a rock” and smashed it against the car, damaging it.
She said that Watson, who had pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal damage, two counts of intentional strangulation and one count of being in possession of an offence weapon, was subsequently kicked out of the HMO and the woman was eventually able to return to her home.
She added that Watson had 16 previous convictions for 27 offences.
Judge Julian Taylor told Watson he had a “very bad record” and jailed him for three years in total, two years for the strangulation offences and 12 months for brandishing the sock in a rock.
Comment Guidelines
Iconic Media encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.