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'They treated him like a victim': Mother slams court as 'stressed' driver is spared jail after ploughing into their living room while daughter, 9, was sleeping
By Simon Tomlinson UPDATED: 22:04, 17 July 2012

Mark Harding, 37, smashed into house in 'almighty explosion' due to 'stress'
Judge spares him jail after hearing he was devastated by death of his mother
Victim: 'I walked out of court in disgust. It is no excuse to do what he did'

A mother has hit out at the way a driver who careered into her living room as her daughter slept was 'treated like a victim' in court.
Elaine Tompkins and her daughter Sophie had a miraculous escape when Kevin Harding’s Ford Focus slammed through the front window of their home.

Sophie, now nine, was sleeping above the room hit by Harding's vehicle in an 'almighty explosion' while her mum had just left the front room for the kitchen.
Furious: Elaine Tompkins, pictured with her daughter Sophie, walked out of court in disgust when the driver who smashed into her living room was spared a prison term
Crash and burn: The damage caused when Kevin Harding ploughed his Ford Fiesta in the front room below where Sophie was sleeping

Elaine, 42, who also has an older daughter, Gemma, 27, was in court to see Harding given a nine-month suspended prison sentence.
She said: 'I walked out in disgust actually. It wasn't so much the sentence. I’m not saying he should have been locked away, it was the way it came across like he was the victim, not us.
'This has had a huge effect on our lives. I can’t bear to live here to be honest and I’m hoping to move house soon. It’s just a constant fear.
'Every time I hear sirens, I’m on edge. I remember once I left Sophie lying on the living room floor watching TV and I’d gone to get a bath.
'I’d just stepped in when I heard sirens and my heart just stopped, thinking, what if it happened now and there’s nothing I can do.'

Destroyed: Harding careered into the house after swerving into a 90-degree bend while being pursued by police, Teesside Crown Court heard
Teesside Crown Court heard how Harding swerved into a 90-degree bend on Sandsend Road, Eston, Cleveland, outside Elaine’s home, smashing into the house.
It came after he twice struck a taxi at red lights on Redcar High Street just after 9.30pm on October 20 last year.
He drove off, refusing to give his details and running the red light, said Emma Atkinson, prosecuting. He sped at about 80mph from Redcar to Marske on the Coast Road.
After a number of police officers had to avoid him as he drove on the wrong side of the road, Harding, 37, struggled to control the car at 60mph in a 30mph zone before crashing into the house.

Harding was properly licensed and not under the influence of drink or drugs, but under stress, the court was told.
He later admitted dangerous driving, failing to stop after an accident and failing to stop for a signal.
No justification: Mrs Tompkins said the death of Harding's mother should be no excuse for this actions

Judge Tony Briggs said: 'Mercifully, no-one was injured, but the shock and distress of having your front room destroyed in this way must have been considerable.'
Graham Brown, mitigating, said Harding had 'significant and multiple mental problems'.
Harding had previously suffered injuries including brain damage in two car accidents, needed a crutch to walk and was on pain relief.
Harding, from Bangor Close, Middlesbrough, was devastated by the death of his mother, described as the 'centre of his life, his carer', two months before the incident.
His mother's death and other personal problems made a 'toxic combination', he said.

Mrs Tompkins, who has now had two steel bollards placed in her front garden, added: 'We’re all right, and that’s the main thing, but I just didn’t like the way he was portrayed as a victim.
'They talked about his mum's death and, while that’s very sad, it’s no excuse to do what he did. I lost my dad and I didn’t go around driving my car into people’s houses.'

Judge Briggs said it was a highly unusual case.
He gave Harding a nine-month prison sentence suspended for two years with 18 months’ supervision, and a two-year driving ban with an extended driving test.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z2K8Ft0nBT
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However stress is often under-rated and very hard to deal with medically as it is so very different for everyone. As the lady said she lost her mum and was OK but that is not true for everyone. Our tolerance and 'forgiving' levels seems very low in current society. I dare say his insurance will pay out to repair the house and so on, but I hope too that they receive fair compensation whilst all the disruption is underway.
When someone 'breaks' who knows what they will do, a difficult one for the Police to deal with too.