A SHOPPER twice sprayed his ex-partner's new man with incapacitating gas in Norton town centre, York Crown Court heard.

Some of the spray went into the face of the woman as she pushed a young child in a pushchair along Commercial Street, said Austin Newman, prosecuting.

Adrian Goldsborough Brown, 44, told police he had got one spray from a friend who had bought it on the internet.

He then made a second one using a YouTube video.

The male victim suffered “excruciating pain to his eye, cheek and neck”, couldn’t see properly for a time out of one eye and was unable to do his window cleaning job for a day.

Brown, of Fletton Road, Norton, pleaded guilty to administering a noxious substance with intent and two charges of having a prohibited weapon.

“You should not be carrying such a substance and you certainly should not be prepared to use it,” Judge Simon Hickey said.

Graham Parkin, defending, said Brown had been subjected to anonymous threats and someone had put his windows through.

He said he was deeply remorseful.

He had immediately rung police to tell them about the incident at 8.30am on January 23 last year and showed them where the “pepper” spray canisters were.

There had been no further incidents.

The judge said: “I take the view this was an unusual and isolated incident, albeit serious.”

He suspended a 12-month prison sentence for 18 months on condition Brown does 15 days’ rehabilitation activities.

Mr Newman said the woman was in a relationship with the window cleaner and had been in a relationship with Brown.

There had been problems between the two men for months.

On January 23, they encountered each other in Commercial Street when Brown was shopping.

Brown showed the other man his damaged windows on his phone and then he saw the woman approaching.

Brown became aggressive and the other man pushed him in the chest. Brown pulled out a canister and sprayed him in the face twice.