A man battered down the front door of the flat he is said to have been illegally evicted from by his landlord.

Derin Rasul, 32, of County Road, Swindon, verbally threatened his ex-landlord and then kicked down the flat door to collect his belongings.

He pleaded guilty at Swindon Magistrates Court on July 15 to the use of threatening words and criminal damage under £5,000.

Rasul was warned by his landlord on May 20 that he would have to leave the flat he rented or the locks would be changed, which they were on May 31, 2024.

The landlord was standing outside of his workplace around 7.40pm when Rasul approached him, shouting and swearing.

“There are a number of people who effectively have to drag Mr Rasul away from the shop”, said Ballinger.

(Image: Newsquest)

The landlord returned home to find the front door had been damaged but the only items missing were Rasul’s clothing.

Rasul accepted the damage in a police interview but said he felt it was the only way to get his possessions.

Khurram Rashid, of Knightswood Solicitors representing Rasul, explained that the timescales amounted to an “illegal eviction”.

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After the warning, Rasul contacted the council, who advised him not to leave the property until he had a court order to leave.

When Rasul told his landlord this they changed the locks. “This was an illegal eviction”, said Rashid.

The court did not hear the eviction reason but charity Shelter advises tenant must be given two months' notice for a ‘no fault’ eviction.

Rasul called the police on the day of the incident asking for help, but “out of desperation he forced access to the property which he accepts was wrong”, said Rashid.

Rasul, of no previous convictions, did no additional damage and did not take any property that was not his, the court heard.

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He approached the landlord to offer to pay him for the damage and is still “happy” to do this.

The court heard Rasul, a delivery driver, is now “ashamed” of the way he acted. He has since sofa-surfed and slept rough while some of his property is still at the address.

The magistrate said: “For both of these offences we are exceptionally going to make a conditional discharge.”

The judge took into account Rasul's early guilty plea, his remorse and compliance.

Rasul was given two six-month conditional discharges to run concurrently and must pay £500 compensation for the door damage. No costs of surcharge were imposed.