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A thug booted out of a property for failing to pay his rent camped in a tent outside the house and assaulted his former landlord.

John Johnston, 29, also left the home in a terrible state – damage compared to that sustained in a “prison riot” – so landlord Darren Bernard, 53, evicted him. 

But Johnston’s partner still lived in the house of multiple occupancy (HMO) so he decided to pitch a tent in front of the building in The Avenues, Hull.

A court heard he camped there for a few weeks but, when Mr Bernard found he had re-entered the property, things came to a head and Johnston physically attacked the man.

Mr Bernard, a physiotherapist, suffered a head injury, Hull Live reports.

But Johnston was spared jail at Hull Magistrates Court last week despite admitting the assault by beating.

The defendant was sentenced to 192 hours of unpaid work, given a year’s community order, a restraining order to keep away from Mr Bernard and cannot step foot on the property for two years.

He is also not permitted to go on an adjacent street near the property.

Hull Magistrates Court confirmed Johnston was also issued a community order in York in 2021 and a report by The York Press said Johnston also pleaded guilty to assault and making a threatening phone call to family members in 2020.

Johnston was behind on his rent payments because he lost his job earlier this year. 

Speaking after the court apperance, Mr Bernard said: “Over the past few months, I have been in contact with police and the local MP Diana Johnson to finally get this matter resolved. John is a bully that has not only assaulted me but scared all the residents on Westbourne Avenue.

“The property has been trashed over the past year and I have found windows smashed and ketchup all over the walls like there had been a prison riot in there. I am disappointed in how long it has taken to move him away from my house.”

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