Aristocrat, 53, brandished a ‘family heirloom’ machete ‘to prove a point’ at business meeting

An aristocrat brandished her grandfather’s machete at a business meeting after an investment into cryptocurrency went bad.

Romaine Colthurst took the blade to the meeting to ‘prove a point’, a court heard this week.

The 53-year-old lost a substantial amount of money after investing £320,000 into cryptocurrency and brought the weapon, a family heirloom, to a meeting regarding her financial loss, Welshpool Magistrates’ Court was told.

When questioned by police, Colthurst told them she readied herself for the meeting by ‘brushing my hair and made sure my make-up and hair was straight and adjusted the machete under my coat’.

Romaine Colthurst took a machete to the meeting to ‘prove a point’, a court heard this week. Pictured: Colthurst with a machete

The court heard the defendant ‘was just carrying’ the weapon ‘for the visual aspect’ and to ‘make a point’ but she refuted any suggestion she took it to make a threat.

Descended from Irish Barons, Colhurst’s father Oliver owned Blarney Castle and estate near Cork, including its famous stone, while her mother, Caroline, was a fashion journalist who co-founded the exclusive London members’ club, Annabel’s.

The Colthurst’s Shropshire pile, the 42-bedroom Pitchford estate, has been in the family since 1473 and was once host to Queen Victoria.

But the family were forced to sell Pitchford in 1992 after they lost their fortune when faced with a demand for £800,000 after investing in the Lloyd’s insurance syndicate.

Colthurst invested £320,000 into a cryptocurrency business belonging to entrepreneur Lyndon Farrington 

Colthurst’s older sister, Rowena, bought the Tudor house back in 2016 with her political lobbyist husband James Nason.

Now living off her family’s inheritance in Wales, Colthurst has been unemployed for ten years, the court heard, and invested £320,000 into a cryptocurrency business belonging to entrepreneur Lyndon Farrington.

But after losing a substantial amount of money through the investment, she decided to confront Mr Farrington last November at his premises in Llangedwyn Mill, where his company Beep Mine Ltd is based.

In a ‘moment of madness’ Colthurst took a machete belonging to her grandfather, which she later told officers was in the side door of her car.

Pretesh Chauhan, defending, said: ‘Ms Colthurst made an ill-advised decision to take what is essentially a family heirloom to the meeting.

‘She uses it on her estate to cut down grass and vegetation. Nothing I can say is designed to excuse the fact that she was transporting a weapon to what was essentially a business meeting.’

A pre-sentence report was completed by probation officer Julian Davies, who told the court: ‘She has lost lots of money and went to confront him about the investment, and in a moment of madness took her grandfather’s machete.’

After admitting a charge of possessing a bladed article, Ms Colthurst was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for 12 months.

She must complete 150 hours of unpaid work, pay a £154 surcharge and £85 costs.

The court also ordered the destruction of the machete.