A vigilante former X Factor contestant who threatened two males while holding a baseball bat has been fined £300.

Samuel Drover Smith admitted possessing an offensive weapon and threatening behaviour after he confronted the pair who he thought had been causing problems in his neighbourhood.

Magistrates fined him £150 for each offence.

Prosecuting advocate Barry Swain told magistrates that, on November 1 at 8.30pm, the two complainants in the case were sitting on a fence at Pairk Ollay in Ramsey where Smith lives.

They said they saw a group of youths who they believed had been knocking on doors and running away.

Smith, who is 32, was then said to have arrived in a black sports car.

They reported that he asked them: ’Was that you banging on my f**king door? If you do it again I’ll smash your face in.’

Smith was said to be holding a baseball bat at the time but stayed in his car.

The duo said they felt scared after the incident and reported it to police

When Smith was arrested he showed police the bat and during an interview said that he believed the two complainants had been harassing his neighbour by knocking on her door and running away.

Smith admitted to police that he had said either ’I’ll kick you up the arse’ or ’I’ll smash your face in’.

He told police that he had only intended to scare them, to stop them knocking on his neighbour’s door as her mental health was suffering and she was vulnerable.

case

Mr Swain submitted that the case was suitable for summary court.

Smith appeared on the ITV talent show X Factor in 2017 under the name Sam Black.

A probation report said that Smith said that he and his family and his neighbours had been subjected to quite severe anti-social behaviour by local youths and he was quite desperate to move out of the estate.

On the night of the incident Smith told probation that he had heard youths kicking in his neighbour’s door and said he was frustrated after months of anti-social behaviour, contacting the police and not getting very far.

work

The report said that Smith was a professional singer, and a plasterer by trade, who had been doing charity work and had found it difficult to get work because of the lockdowns.

Defence advocate Stephen Wood handed in a letter of support from Smith’s neighbour.

Mr Wood said: ’We all appreciate that caped crusaders should remain in comic books and not take matters into their own hands.

’It was a mistake and he’s not going to be back. We would submit that gangs of youths have been hanging around the estate causing problems and stress.’

Magistrates also ordered Smith to pay £125 prosecution costs.

He will pay the fine and costs at a rate of £20 per fortnight.