A TORY councillor has pleaded guilty to assault after he threw a pudding bowl at his wife’s head during a meal-time row.
Paul Woodall’s wife Joanne was left with a one-inch cut to her forehead and blood pouring down her face after she spilled the bowl of food down him , Dudley Magistrates Court heard.
The 45-year-old got into an argument with his wife when she began quizzing him about worries to do with losing his job at their Kingswinford home, in the West Midlands, on January 22.
After calling his wife a ‘slut’ and a ‘slag’, the councillor made comments about a previous relationship – which caused Mrs Woodhall to become angry and throw a TV remote at him.
The court heard how the dispute simmered throughout the lunch but reached boiling point when Cllr Woodhall brought out dessert.
“His wife of two years picked up her bowl as if to throw it at him – but he stopped her and the food went down his front,” said Mrs Sikhi Rai, prosecuting.
“He then threw his dish at her and it connected with her forehead. She immediately felt blood and could feel a hole in her head.”
Mrs Woodall was struck in the head and sustained a one-inch cut which was treated after her husband called an ambulance.
The court heard a victim statement written by Mrs Woodall in which she said they were both “strong characters” and after he had been drinking there had been “a couple” of previous incidents of violence during their relationship which she had not reported to police.
Cllr Woodall, who was elected two years ago for the Kingswinford North and Wall Heath ward, in the West Midlands, pleaded guilty to the assault and the court was told he had no previous convictions.
Defence solicitor John Bugg added he was having counselling and the couple were working to repair their marriage.
Magistrates granted Cllr Woodall unconditional bail and adjourned the case for sentencing until Thursday February 23.
As he left the court building Cllr Woodall, who was elected to represent the Kingswinford North and Wall Heath ward in 2010, said he had no comment to make.
When asked if he intended to resign from Dudley Council, he said: “It is a personal matter and it is being dealt with personally.”
His future as a Tory councillor will be decided after sentencing but if he receives a custodial term of more than three months, he will be disqualified from elected office.
Dudley Council’s Tory leader Cllr Les Jones, would not speculate on Cllr Woodall’s future until the case is concluded.
He said: “The council, and I personally, take a very dim view of violence in a domestic situation, there are too many cases and too many cases are alcohol related.
“At the moment my position is not to prejudge, I will be having a conversation with him as soon as judgement is made.
“We will see what happens in the light of the sentence.
Councillor David Sparks, Labour opposition leader on Dudley Council, said: “If he was a Labour councillor we would expect him to resign.”
