A spurned woman chopped up her ex-husband's clothes and ransacked his home, causing almost £20,000 of damage.

Lyn Drouin, 51, of Norfolk Gardens, Littlehampton, battered down the back door of his house with a broom handle before launching into a wrecking spree.

In the kitchen, she took a knife to worktops and units and smashed cups and plates.

In the lounge, she smashed the stereo and threw framed pictures on to the floor, showering the carpet with glass.

The professional seamstress then pulled a pair of dressmaking scissors from her handbag and went up to the bedroom where she ripped light fittings from the ceiling and cut up all Philip Drouin's clothes.

Lewes Crown Court heard how Drouin had driven herself into "high dudgeon" on discovering her ex-husband was seeing a woman almost 20 years his junior two years after they had separated, following 26 years of marriage But when she thought she was being shunned over preparations for their 26-year-old daughter's wedding, it was the final straw.

Piers Power, prosecuting, told the court Mr Drouin discovered the chaos when he returned home to Greenhill Way, Haywards Heath, with his new partner on October 1 last year.

Mr Power said: "Anything that could be broken had been broken. There was general chaos."

Mr Drouin called the police. His ex-wife was arrested at 3am the following day and taken to Crawley police station.

The court was told she admitted breaking into the property.

Mr Power said: "She described how she had gained entry to the house.

"She said she had selected a knife from the kitchen drawer and caused damage.

"She admitted she had got scissors from her handbag and she used those to cut up her husband's clothing."

Guy Russell, defending Drouin, said the wrecking spree had been triggered by a series of events following the breakdown of the marriage.

He said: "It's always tragic when someone of previous good character comes before the courts for the first time."

He said Drouin had carefully removed precious photographs from their frames before smashing them.

"One can see there was almost a grieving aspect to what was happening.

"She had lost her husband of almost 27 years and there were difficulties with her daughter.

"The new lady in her ex-husband's life was seven years older than her daughter. Then there was the loss of one of her uncles.

"All of this was fermenting in her mind on that day. She's an accomplished seamstress and having gone to the trouble of making a wedding dress for her daughter she was rebuffed by not being invited to the hen night.

"She felt she was being excluded from the wedding.

"When she went to the house she hadn't formed any clear picture in her mind of what she was going to do.

"A red mist descended before her eyes. It was cathartic. This was a one off. It won't be occurring again.

"She's deeply ashamed of her actions. She was obviously traumatised at the time."

Judge Richard Brown told Drouin: "I don't consider you to be a risk to the public and I don't believe you would re-offend therefore I am not proposing a custodial sentence.

"If such behaviour occurred in the future that could not be said again. This is very much a last-chance situation for you."

Drouin, who pleaded guilty to criminal damage, was sentenced to a two-year community rehabilitation order.