A MAN flattened the front door when his girlfriend locked him out of their flat because she jumped to conclusions when he walked a young woman to her taxi.

Blackburn magistrates heard that when police arrived the couple, who had both been drinking heavily at a wake, were shouting at each other. The front door was lying on the floor.

Peter Chalmers Muir, 42, of Oakenhurst Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to causing £300 worth of damage to the door. The case was adjourned until February 28 so the question of compensation could be clarified after the court was told the flat was council owned.

Simon Farnsworth, defending, said Muir and Elizabeth Armstrong had lived together for four years.

She had cared for an elderly neighbour who had died and the wake was held at their home.