A MACHETE-WIELDING man 'smirked' as he tried to invade a Winsford mum's home while her three children were inside. 

Stephen Poole, of Bradbury Road, Winsford, appeared at the woman's back door brandishing the blade at 5.30pm on Thursday, October 10.

The 33-year-old, along with another man, was trying to get to her ex partner, who had left the house 10 minutes earlier with a friend before dashing back to seek refuge.   

Poole tried to break into the house by kicking-in the back door and smashing a pane of glass, all the while ‘smirking’ at her through the window, according to Cheshire Police.

After failing to get in, Poole and his accomplice made off on foot though the rear of the property. 

Officers who went to the house later managed to find Poole’s machete, which he’d tried to hide.

Poole was arrested and brought before magistrates on Saturday, October 12, where he pleaded guilty to one count of affray and one of  possession of a machete in a public place.

He was remanded on conditional bail and told to return to Chester Crown Court for sentencing on Monday, November 25.

Poole, who has previous convictions for burglary and violence, served a 16-week jail sentence for wielding a machete on Arkwright Close in Winsford in July 2023.

He was also given a 12-week suspended prison sentence by Crewe magistrates for stealing electrical items from Cheshire West and Chester Council in June 2023. 

This time, Judge Patrick Thompson sentenced him to 20 months immediate custody. 

Judge Thompson also made a restraining order, banning him from contacting the mum-of-three, or going near her home, for five years.