A sibling squabble escalated into an assault and a court appearance when a Milford Haven man pulled his sister by the hair.

Geraint John Hughes, of Haven Drive, pleaded guilty to assaulting Bethan Hughes by beating, when he appeared at Haverfordwest magistrates court on Wednesday, August 1.

Sian Vaughan, prosecuting, told the court that Miss Hughes was visiting her nephews when Hughes, 30, arrived home drunk after playing golf on July 7.

She said: “He started shouting in her face, saying ‘get out of my house now or I will drag you out by the hair’, and that’s exactly what he did.”

In a victim impact statement read to the bench, Miss Hughes stated she was scared to return to her brother’s house.

She said: “The incident shook me up. I did not think he was going to be like that towards me.

“It suddenly kicked off over nothing.”

The court heard that she suffered soreness to her head, and Hughes’ father saw that her hair was dishevelled when she joined him in the lounge.

Jonathan Webb, defending, said the incident was a ‘one-off’.

“There was some kind of petty squabble, as so often happens between siblings, even when they are adults.

“He grabbed his sister by the hair and tried to shove her out of the house.”

Mr Webb added: “This might be acceptable when you are a child, but not when you are 30.”

The court heard that Hughes had been unable to contact witnesses while waiting for his hearing, meaning he was unable to see father, children or his fiancée who he was due to marry in the next few weeks.

Mr Webb said: “This has been a salutary lesson for him.

“There was no injury, it was a short incident and was not premeditated.”

Magistrates imposed a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £50 compensation to his sister, plus £105 in costs and a surcharge.