A man who arrived at his ex-partner’s home dressed as a clown and struck her door with an axe has avoided jail. Pawel Rabel, originally from Poland but living in the UK for 20 years, repeatedly harassed the mother of his children with unwanted contact from December 2023 until October 2025. The most serious incident occurred just before 9pm on October 20 when his victim, a mother of three, found a bag of gifts on her doorstep. At his sentencing hearing at Maidstone Crown Court, prosecutor Alban Brahimi described the moment when the Tonbridge resident attended her property dressed in a clown costume and mask before striking an axe at her door. He told the court the clown stood three metres from her home and was acting in a “menacing manner, making growling noises.” Rabel then spoke briefly in Polish, confirming to the victim that the clown was her ex-partner. After shutting the door and telling her children to disconnect the Ring doorbell, the 47-year-old proceeded to strike her door with an axe, leaving scratches on its surface. The incident was captured on the doorbell footage. A victim impact statement read to the court on August 20 said the incident had caused the mother of three to have a mental breakdown, and she has since been diagnosed with depression. Later that same evening, she found a yellow Aldi bag in the garden, containing the clown mask and a handwritten card. The court heard that in the early hours of October 21, officers located Rabel, who they said appeared intoxicated, and a search of his van revealed the axe used in the attack, which was seized. However, the former bus driver maintained that the weapon was plastic and not real and that he had only gone to his ex-partner's house to deliver a birthday card. Mr. Brahimi said the incidents had a significant effect on the victim, causing her fear, harassment, and distress. The prosecution told the judge how tensions had escalated before the incident, when Rabel uploaded a past argument between the couple onto YouTube. The court heard he was also seen near their children's school in a distinctive van, had left parcels and cash outside her home, and turned up uninvited to her son's jujitsu lesson. Mr. Brahimi said the stalking of his victim was “persistent” and over a prolonged period of time, despite her taking out a non-molestation order. The couple, who share two biological children and one step-child, had been together for eight years, since 2014. Adrian Yalland, defending, told the court that Rabel had an “insistence and hope” that the relationship would be rekindled and that he had struggled to accept the breakdown of his family unit. The court heard that Rabel had expressed remorse for his actions and felt a degree of shame that he could no longer be the active parent and father he wishes to be. “I hope with all my heart that time will heal matters,” Rabel told his barrister. However, he said the defendant accepted that the axe he was holding definitely gave the impression of a real axe, and it was therefore “stupid to carry it.” The judge told the court that he believed the scratches came from a metal axe, adding: “I would not expect a plastic axe to scratch.” The court heard how the former bus driver, who has no previous convictions, has since stopped working amid court proceedings and has been residing at a bail hostel. Upon passing sentence, Mr. Recorder Andrew Walker noted that Rabel would only be prosecuted for three counts out of five, including possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, stalking without causing fear, alarm, and distress, and criminal damage to the front door. The other counts were ordered to lie on file. An eight-year restraining order was also imposed, preventing him from contacting his victim or entering Tunbridge Wells, subject to certain conditions. Recorder Walker said: “These offences are so serious that nothing less than a community order is justified.” Rabel received an 18-month community order, 90 hours of unpaid work, and 15 hours of rehabilitation activity sessions, with no separate penalty for damaging the property. He was also instructed to pay his victim £300 in compensation, to be paid at £25 a month, with no court costs or victim surcharge as it has been transferred to compensation.