Man banned from job centre after threat to 'blow worker's head off with shotgun'

30 December 2023 , 18:15

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Kyle Wright was handed a restraining order against Crosby JobCentre Plus for two years (Image: Facebook)

A dad has been banned from a Jobcentre after he unleashed a torrent of abuse and told a worker he would “blow her head off with a shotgun”.

Kyle Wright, 33, was already banned from two other Jobcentres but is now also barred from JobCentre Plus in Crosby, Merseyside. His threats included claims he would "come down the jobby and smash the f*** out of the place” and a letter that wrote: “It's Kyle Wright again. I'll be coming to the job centre and I'll smash it up. See you soon."

Despite being warned that police had been contacted over the threats, he took his partner's mobile phone from her during a call with a job centre worker on November 16 and told an employee: "I'll bring my shotgun and blow your head off your shoulders."

Liverpool Magistrates' Court heard yesterday (Friday 29 December) how the staff member suffered a "great deal of anxiety" after the call and had to be walked to and from the building to her car by security. A statement read to the court on her behalf added: "I should not be subjected to abuse while I am working."

Wright admitted two counts of threatening to destroy property and a malicious communications offence during an earlier hearing, and has been remanded into custody since entering his guilty pleas on November 21, reports the Liverpool Echo. Wright has a total of 25 previous convictions for 38 offences, including theft, assaulting police officers and threatening behaviour towards traffic wardens and children's services staff.

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Wright, who has a terminally-ill child, had missed an appointment with the job centre due to a hospital visit and was threatened with a benefits sanction, the court heard. He was signed off as sick after he was seriously injured in a motorbike accident.

Rebecca Templeman, defending, said: "While his record isn't his best feature, he hasn't been in custody before. That five weeks has had the desired effect. Mr Wright is absolutely terrified at the prospect of going back there. He spent Christmas in custody, away from his child. Mr Wright is certainly somebody who has learned his lesson. He would ask that any sentence today is suspended."

Wright was handed a 12-week imprisonment suspended for a year by magistrates. He will also be required to pay £120 in compensation and a £154 victim surcharge and was given a restraining order preventing him from entering or contacting Crosby JobCentre Plus for two years.

Adam Everett