Dad Of The Year Candidate? Shoves Son’s Face Into Cake At 18th Birthday, KO’s Mom-In-Law

Philip Haley, a 35-year-old father from northeastern England town of Stockton, probably won’t be winning many votes for Dad Of The Year, after his bizarre and violent outburst May 4, at his son’s 18th birthday party. A judge heard the details of the frightening frenzy by Haley, in court June 2.

The whole fiasco began with what Haley for some reason thought was a joke. After his son blew out the candles, Haley shoved the boy’s face into the birthday cake.

He later said he thought the stunt would be good for “having a laugh,” but — surprise, surprise — other family members didn’t see the humor.

Haley, however, did not take well to their critique of his inappropriate prank. In fact, he became so enraged at his girlfriend’s mother that he threw her to the floor, dragged her by the hair into the driveway and slammed her head against the hood of a car so hard the woman was knocked unconscious.

When his girlfriend tried to stop Haley’s attack on her mother, he punched her in the face repeatedly — and attacked her two daughters as well, throwing one of the teenagers against a fence and hitting the other, a 14-year-old girl, in the face and knocking her to the ground, The Evening Gazette newspaper reported.

Haley’s berserk rampage stopped only when a courageous neighbor saw the horrific scene unfolding and leaped in to tackle the husky, out-of-control dad, pinning Haley to the ground and holding him there for about five minutes until the police showed up — even as Haley bellowed, “I know where you live! I will kill you!”

In Teeside Crown Court July 2, both Judge Peter Bowers and Haley’s own defense attorney praised the unidentified neighbor for his courageous action.

Haley’s lawyer Paul Abrahams said that Haley gave thanks to the fearless Good Samaritan. “He’s fearful for what may have happened had he not intervened,” the lawyer said. “What he did was beyond what anybody would reasonably expect of a person on the street.”

The judge agreed, saying the neighbor should be “commended.”

He also noted that Haley, who suffers from depression stemming from violence suffered in his own childhood, was on a reduced level of medication at the time of the violent attack. The lowered levels mixed with Haley’s alcohol intake at the party resulted in a “lethal” cocktail of aggression, the judge said.

Though she is now split from Haley, who had one previous conviction for disorderly conduct, the dad’s former girlfriend asked the judge to be lenient with him. Haley has experienced no further rages since the incident.

Bowers sentenced Haley to a year in jail, but suspended the sentence for 18 months. He also slapped Philip Haley with 250 hours of community service. Finally, he told Haley to get further professional treatment for his psychological problems.