Claire Marie Eborall pleads guilty to wilful damage charge

A homeless woman who took her frustration out on a boom gate that came down on her head, causing injury, has now faced court for damaging council property.

Claire Eborall pleaded guilty to wilful damage.

What was supposed to be a gentle ride through town ended in the Bundaberg Magistrates Court after Claire Marie Eborall pleaded guilty to wilful damage.

The court heard Eborall, 58, was riding her bicycle through a public Bundaberg Regional Council parking lot when the boomgate came down on her head.

Police Prosecutor Andrew Powis told the court Eborall was so enraged by being struck she grabbed at the gate and damaged it.

“She was observed forcibly pulling on the boomgate resulting in the gate bending before Eborall rode away,” he said.

Defence lawyer Zoe Turner said Eborall was attempting to fix the gate after it struck her.

“She actually suffered some significant damages from that strike and went to hospital for them,” she told the court.

Claire Eborall was riding her push bike through a council-owned parking lot when a boomgate came down on her head.

The court heard due to frustrations with ongoing health issues and having recently becoming homeless Eborall was upset when the gate hit her.

“She accepts that she was frustrated, but she was actually trying to bend it back into place,” Mrs Turner told the court.

The court heard Eborall was cooperative with police following the incident.

Magistrate Edwina Rowan accepted Eborall’s early guilty plea and considered her health and homing situation.

Eborall was fined $200 for wilful damage and ordered to pay $300 to the council for damages to the gate and a conviction was recorded.