Man who tried to attack pub-goers and threatened ex-girlfriend’s daughter is jailed

Steven Papworth (33) of Wellsfield, Huntingdon, was at the Lord Protector pub in Huntingdon on April 26, 2019 when he became aggressive and started trying to hit people.

When police arrived at around 9pm, Papworth became more agitated and started threatening officers. He began challenging them to a fight and the situation escalated.

Officers were forced to use PAVA – an incapacitant spray similar to pepper spray – to bring the situation under control and quickly arrested the suspect.

Earlier in the day Papworth’s ex-girlfriend received a number of Facebook messages from him accusing her of cheating while they were together – this was a breach of the non-harassment order which was in place to prevent him from harassing her.

He also contacted her daughter over the phone and called her a number of abusive names before threatening to kill her and her family. Papworth was further arrested for these offences.

He pleaded guilty to threatening behaviour, harassment and sending offensive messages and was sentenced to 27 months in prison at Peterborough Crown Court today (Friday, June 7).

PC Andy Miller, who investigated, said: “Papworth was extremely aggressive that night and officers needed to act quickly to bring the situation under control.

“It’s our job to protect the public and Papworth was a threat to those around him. He had clearly been agitated all day as we later found out he had been harassing his ex-girlfriend and making threats to kill her daughter.

“I am glad we have managed to bring him to justice.”