RICHARD WOODS

A man entered his daughter's nursery and threatened to shoot the mother of his children in the face.

Richard Woods persisted in his frightening outburst even after police arrived to arrest him, stating: "She's going in a body bag when I get out." Today, the court described him as "a damaged man, not an evil one," after he was released from prison, having spent several weeks incarcerated since the incident.

In court proceedings, it was revealed that Woods, a 37-year-old from Grove Road in Wallasey, Wirral, had a 14-year relationship with Sarah Appleton, with whom he had three children before their split in 2023, primarily due to his cocaine addiction and mental health struggles.

Prosecutor Christopher Hopkins explained that Woods had previously made threats to his former partner, which led to him being issued a non-molestation order on April 29 this year.

This order prohibited him from being at their daughter's nursery during pick-up and drop-off times, although it could not be confirmed that the order had been formally served.

On June 9, just before 3 p.m., Woods arrived at the nursery, acting aggressively when staff refused him access because he could not provide a required password.

They contacted Appleton, who arrived shortly afterward, only to be approached by Woods when she parked her car.

He allegedly asked her, "Have you taken an order out on me?" called her a "slag," and proceeded to punch the windows of her vehicle multiple times.

Frightened, she briefly left the premises but returned later to pick up her daughter.

During this encounter, Woods spat at her car window and ominously told her, "I thought about killing myself.

But now I’ve decided I’m going to shoot you in the face." Nursery staff called authorities after overhearing Woods shouting threats like "I’ll f***ing kill you, you rat." His threats persisted upon police arrival, with Woods adding that "she will make me murder her one day," and expressing regret about not assaulting her more severely by saying, "I wish I’d stamped on her head." Woods pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and to threatening behaviour.

Dressed in a navy blue Castore tracksuit top at the hearing, he nodded towards supporters in the public gallery as he was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for 18 months.