6 August 2012 Last updated at 09:52 ET

Swansea Lib Dem councillor jailed for attacking mother

The court heard Arthur had punched his mother on a number of occasions

A Liberal Democrat community councillor has been jailed for four months for punching his 87-year-old mother.

Swansea magistrates heard Simon Arthur, 44, had treated his mother Isabelle Arthur, "like a dog" for years.

He admitted assaulting pensioner Mrs Arthur, who uses a walking stick, in the driveway of their home in Newton near Mumbles.

After the case Swansea Lib Dems said he had been suspended and steps taken to permanently expel him from the party.

Prosecutor Sharon Anderson told the court Mrs Arthur had been out for the day, but she was too scared to return home, choosing to wait in a car park.

"She regularly went to the car park to avoid going home and had even slept there overnight previously," she said.

"Around 8pm she did go home and parked in the driveway but her son had locked all the doors to their home.

"At around 11.30pm he came out of the house and began the attack," Ms Anderson added.

In a statement Mrs Arthur said her son had come over to the driver's side door and grabbed her hair and tried to pull her out of the car.

"It was like he was possessed," she said.

'Nasty temper'

During the attack he had shouted "You'll burn, you'll suffer in the after life", she added.

When police arrived Arthur opened a drawer in the kitchen and grabbed a knife.

He lunged at Pc Greg Bowen who managed to dodge the blade before disarming the councillor, who was a Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate in the 2010 general election.

Mrs Arthur said her son had never had a proper job and relied on her for financial support.

"He has a nasty temper and has got more controlling since my husband died 22 years ago.

"Simon's behaviour escalated last year after my twin brother Peter died," she said.

Arthur, a councillor for the Newton ward on Mumbles Community Council admitted common assault and assault by beating.

He admitted to police in interview that he had punched his mother on a number of previous occasions, the court heard.

Officers asked him to indicate the force he had used on a scale of one to 10. He replied "two".

Magistrates imposed a restraining order on him after hearing his mother no longer wants to share her home with him.

Justice of the peace, Eliot Griffiths, told him: "Your mother is now very much in charge and you have to do what she tells you to."

Peter May, chairman of Swansea Lib Dems, said after the case: "Mr Arthur has been suspended and we have taken steps to permanently expel him for the party."

Age Cymru's safeguarding manager Louise Hughes said abuse of elderly people was completely unacceptable, and this case was one of the worst examples it had heard of.

"Age Cymru commends Mrs Arthur's neighbour for contacting the authorities - that one single act helped bring an end to the abuse that was being dealt out by Simon Arthur, and his eventual jailing," said Ms Hughes.

"We hope that the publicity generated today by this case will raise awareness of elder abuse and send out a strong message that society does not tolerate cruelty towards older people."