"You were horrid, lazy and despicable"

Monday 15 June 2020

After swearing at a fellow motorist whose car she had just hit in Alliance Car Park, a 32-year-old then caused damage to another parked vehicle in a spree of disorderly behaviour that Guernsey's Magistrate said "even the lowest form of reality TV would fail to emulate."

Zoe Annette Haines has been given a 10 month community service order for the offences.

Around midday on 7 March, Zoe Haines went to Alliance on Braye Road where her car collided with a parked vehicle, scuffing it, as she was going into the car park.

Rather than stopping, she continued to the front of the car park and parked there. The owner of the damaged vehicle approached Haines asking for her insurance details, however she told them to "**ck off" and went back to her car.

While inside her car she noticed that the other driver was taking down her car details and swung her door open to confront them.

In doing, she "slammed" her car door into the vehicle next to her, causing minor damage to that vehicle as well.

Pictured: The incidents occurred outside Alliance supermarket. 

With another car owner now also asking for her insurance details, Guernsey Police were called over Haines' behaviour and she was arrested on suspicion of behaving in a disorderly manner. 

Afterwards, Haines apologised to police for her behaviour, saying she had acted recklessly and that she had been unable to control her emotions after the initial collision. 

She had no intention of getting into a physical altercation and was afraid of her insurance premium going up beyond what she could afford. 

Her Advocate, Liam Roffey, said Haines had engaged voluntarily with Guernsey Mind, who were providing her with help and support for her difficulties, however there were conflicting probation reports about her.

The most recent suggested that she was unwilling to engage with probation and did not think it was for her. 

Judge McKerrel said that Guernsey's Courts were running out of ways to sentence Haines.

"You have a terrible record that contains a number of relevant previous convictions and you have been given just about every type of sentence available to this Court. 

"And yet you still offend in a most horrid and despicable way that even the lowest form of reality TV would fail to emulate.

"Your anger and hostility towards someone whose car you had hit, because you were too lazy to go the long way round, you just couldn't make it up."

Judge McKerrell said Haines had taken a lot from the community, and given "little to nothing" back.

He decided to explore a different sentencing option to those given for previous offences, with Haines made to do 100 hours of unpaid work though a Community Service Order.

Judge McKerrell warned Haines that she was "walking a tightrope" and will end up spending a significant amount of her life behind bars if she is unable to change, which he said will only happen if she commits to it voluntarily. 

Pictured top: Guernsey's Royal Court.