A DOORSTEP row with his "father-in-law" proved costly for a 29-year-old Haslingden man.

Blackburn magistrates heard how Lee William Baldwin broke the front door of the house after Alan Broscoe had refused to let him in.

And Baldwin was ordered to pay £400 compensation despite the court being told his partner had sent a letter revealing the door had always been faulty and that her boyfriend had clearly been "shocked and apologetic" when the door flew open.

Baldwin, of West View, pleaded guilty to criminal damage. The magistrates imposed no penalty other than the compensation order.

John Wood, prosecuting, said Mr Broscoe had told Baldwin he wasn't welcome and closed the door on him. Mr Broscoe claimed Baldwin began banging on the door which eventually burst open.

In a compensation claim form, he detailed damage to the door, the lock and the casing and claimed compensation of £740.

But Stephen Parker, defending, said Baldwin had been leaning on the door trying to listen to an argument between his partner and her father.

"He is a large man and while he says it wasn't deliberate he accepts that there was some damage caused to the door," said Mr Parker.