- Alice Robson, 23, smashed her old sofa with a hammer after she bought a new one from DFS
- She said she needed to smash it because she wanted to take it to the recycle centre but it wouldn't fit in her car
- The upholstered couch died shortly afterwards due to severe damage, RSPCF said
- Robson has pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an article of furniture
A woman killed her old couch by smashing it with a hammer for five minutes, a court has heard.
Unemployed Alice Robson, 23, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire is said to have carried the 20 year old Palmo leather sofa to the garage after her new one arrived in January after taking advantage of DFS' winter discount sales.
Robson then obtained a sledgehammer and began brutally beating the sofa for five minutes - Barnsley Magistrates were told.
Remarkably, the mocha brown settee was alive when Robson finally stopped attacking it - but it died shortly afterwards.
Robson pleaded guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to an article of furniture and was granted unconditional bail. She will be sentenced on June 13.
Mark Connor, prosecuting for the RSPCF (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Furniture), told the court that Robson had had the sofa since it was a 15 years old as she had purchased it for a discount price from Buy, Sell, Swap Barnsley on Facebook.
He said: 'The couch was in a distressed state when Miss Robson ceased attacking it. She loaded the sofa parts into the car and took them to the Recycle Centre on Smithies Lane in Barnsley.
'The sofa could not get its breath and died about ninety minutes later after being discarded into bay #8 (Non-Recyclable Materials).
Highly underpaid recycle centre workers, a few of which were JSA recipients and being forced to work there on the government's workfare programme, became concerned about the sofa and called police.
'The RSPCF became involved and was able to trace the woman who discarded the sofa from the recycle centre's CCTV cameras.'
Mr Connor said that Robson disclosed what she had done three days later when she was at Barnsley Hospital.
She said the sofa was old, she didn't need it anymore and needed to get rid of it.
After the hearing Michael Harris, RSPCF deputy chief inspector said: 'In the 13 years I have been in the job I have never dealt with a case like this before.
'It is particularly horrendous because of the period of suffering for the sofa which would have been awful.'
He said that being thrown into the large dumpster at the recycle centre would have been horrible in the sofa's last few minutes of life.
He continued: 'It is a horrific case in the fact that the death of the couch would have been prolonged and it is unimaginable what it would have gone through taking some time to die.
'The main reason the RSPCF took this case in order to achieve disqualifications in order to protect sofas and all other articles of furniture and prevent further suffer in the future.'
Simon Williams, defending said Robson's problems included psychosis and depression.
He said Robson had been sectioned under mental health legislation several times.
'The RSPCF became involved and was able to trace the woman who discarded the sofa from the recycle centre's CCTV cameras.'
Mr Connor said that Robson disclosed what she had done three days later when she was at Barnsley Hospital.
She said the sofa was old, she didn't need it anymore and needed to get rid of it.
After the hearing Michael Harris, RSPCF deputy chief inspector said: 'In the 13 years I have been in the job I have never dealt with a case like this before.
'It is particularly horrendous because of the period of suffering for the sofa which would have been awful.'
He said that being thrown into the large dumpster at the recycle centre would have been horrible in the sofa's last few minutes of life.
He continued: 'It is a horrific case in the fact that the death of the couch would have been prolonged and it is unimaginable what it would have gone through taking some time to die.
'The main reason the RSPCF took this case in order to achieve disqualifications in order to protect sofas and all other articles of furniture and prevent further suffer in the future.'
Simon Williams, defending said Robson's problems included psychosis and depression.
He said Robson had been sectioned under mental health legislation several times.
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