‘Tree surgeon of the year’ had ‘fit of rage’ over Wi-Fi and pushed wife down the stairs

A tree surgeon pushed his wife down the stairs during a “fit of rage” after the WiFi crashed, a court heard.

Grant Wagster’s wife suffered a broken hip after he shoved her with “all his power”, Warrington magistrates’ court was told.

The 48-year-old went into meltdown after he lost broadband connection.

His lawyer Jon Keane – who said alcohol “no doubt” played a part in the incident – described the attack as “a single push with devastating consequences”.

His wife, Lyndsey was in the shower of their home in Macclesfield, Cheshire on November 25, 2022, when she “heard a lot of banging from an upstairs room”.

Wagster – who runs Ward and Wagster professional tree services in Manchester – was doing admin work in his office.

James Gore, prosecuting, said: “She saw Wagster in her office throwing items around. He was shouting about the Wi-Fi dropping out and he was shouting and screaming.

“She asked, ‘What are you doing?’ and then told him to stop. But he ignored her and walked into his office. She stood opposite the doorway of her office with her back towards the top of the stairs.

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“As she said, ‘Why are you doing this?’ with one hand he reached out and pushed her and made her fall back.

“She fell down a couple of stairs, landed on her hip and banged her head on a wall. She said she never screamed as much in her life and had never known such pain in her life.”

Wagster – who is now estranged from his wife – partly blamed his actions on the stress of running a tree surgery business which has won “tree surgeon of the year” award three times.

Keane, defending told the court: “Alcohol no doubt played a part in the commission of this offence and he also describes crippling stress which as a result means he suffers from psoriasis.

“He is incredibly proud of his business and has won several awards.”

Wagster admitted causing grievous bodily harm and was ordered to pay his wife £1,000 compensation.

The court also enforced an 18-month restraining order preventing the tree surgeon from approaching or contacting his wife.