An enraged dad lobbed missiles at two expensive cars smashing their windows in a misdirected attack on a man he accused of hurting his son.

Louey Stephenson, 37, had been drinking when he hurled a brick and a metal pole at the windows of two Mercedes parked in the Lockmeadow Complex car park in Maidstone in January.

But rather than taking out his rage on a man he accuses of hurting his child, his violent outburst instead impacted two innocent bystanders.

One woman, Patricia Khan, was so affected by the attack that she now tries to avoid Maidstone town centre altogether as she’s nervous she will be targeted again.

The other, Daniel Young, couldn’t pick his young daughter up from school after his window was smashed as there was shattered glass littered inside it.

Stephenson later told police he had launched the brick and metal pole at the vehicles as he thought they were owned by a man who had hurt his child.

And in separate incidents, he also stole from two shops in Medway when he nipped into a Tesco Express store in Strood on August 8 and made off with a bottle of gin and a bottle of vodka valued at £50.

Then just ten days later, on August 18, he went to a Co-op in Rochester and swiped a bottle of wine worth £9.

And when he was arrested over the matters and asked to provide a sample at the police station to see if he was on drugs, he refused.

Stephenson, of Mountbatten Avenue, Chatham, was later charged with two counts of criminal damage, two counts of shoplifting and one refusal to provide a sample for a class A drug test which he admitted to at an earlier hearing in September.

At the time the case was adjourned to allow an all-options pre-sentencing report to be carried out on him and he returned to Medway Magistrates’ Court on November 7 to hear his fate.

Sarah Madden, prosecuting, said: “It was January 3 and the defendant was seen walking in the Lockmeadow car park at about 11am and threw a brick at a Mercedes window and it split the windscreen.

“Then he returned later and this time he had a metal pole and he used it to shatter the back window on another Mercedes. It cost £125 to repair.

“Later he told police he thought the cars belonged to a man who had hurt his son.”

She told the court the later crimes involving the theft of alcohol from two separate supermarkets were identified by police via CCTV footage but “the goods were never recovered”.

Both Mercedes owners had written victim personal statements to say how the incidents had affected them.

Magistrates were told Ms Khan cares for children with complex disabilities by taking them out for days so they can enjoy different activities, but that she was now nervous to park her car anywhere.

She also had to pay £125 to get the window repaired and said she had missed work while the car was repaired and that she now tries to avoid Maidstone altogether.

Mr Young also said he was stressed after his car was targeted as he just didn’t know why he had been singled out and that he couldn’t collect his daughter from school that day because of the car’s damage.

The prosecutor added: “He has 47 previous convictions and 14 of those are for theft with various shoplifting offences committed between 2005 and 2016, and there was also a criminal damage in 2016.”

Dotun Ogunfolu, defending, said: “He had been drinking and it was a stupid act and he was in an emotional state.

“He accepts he had a drink but he had to attend court that day because his child had been subjected to harm and that person was in court.

“Yes, it was a deliberate act but the wrong persons were targeted and he understands the devastating effect this has had on the victims and his last conviction was in 2018.

“He took to drink because of the situation with his child and he’s currently sofa surfing and on benefits.”

Magistrates placed Stephenson on a 24-month community order which will involve him attending 40 rehabilitation sessions with probation and completing 19 thinking skills sessions, as well as carrying out 100 hours of unpaid work.

The chairman of the bench said: “You targeted random Mercedes and it’s going to cost you some money.”

Stephenson was also ordered to pay Mrs Khan £125 and Mr Young £75 compensation as well as £50 to Tesco and £9 to the Co-op.

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £114 and £85 court costs

Stephenson will pay what he owes the court at a rate of £20 a month as he’s on benefits.