Alcoholic jailed for sustained and 'disgraceful' attack on his mother

An alcoholic has been jailed for a sustained and 'disgraceful' attack on his mother in her own home . more

John Ward, of Wood Street, Kidderminster, threatened to cause his 53-year-old mother Beverley Ward 'a slow and painful death' in the unprovoked attack in Amblecote, Stourbridge, on August 18.

The thug, aged 34, punched the victim in the face, spat at her, threw garden furniture at her and dragged her around the house by her hair, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard on Wednesday.

The court was told that Ward had arranged to spend time with his mother and she had collected him from his home.

Mr David Lees, prosecuting, said when Mrs Ward picked-up her son he appeared to have been drinking.

He said: "At around 6.30pm they went to a nearby pub but had to leave after the defendant made inappropriate comments.

"When they returned he went to purchase more alcohol and his aggressive behaviour increased.

"They were in the back garden and with no prior warning he pushed her into a chair.

"He pushed her and asked if she was scared when she replied 'yes' he said 'good, I'm in charge now'.

"The defendant picked up garden furniture and threw it at Mrs Ward hitting her on the arm. She pleaded with him to stop.

"He then spat at her face and punched her to the left eye and kicked her in the leg.

"The defendant then said 'you know I'm going to kill you tonight'.

"He said it would be a 'slow and painful death'."

Mr Lees said the attack on the Mrs Ward was only stopped when a family member saw Ward assaulting his mother and the police were called.

Ward had to be tasered by police to be arrested but due to his alcohol consumption he was taken to hospital.

Mr Lees added: "Once at the hospital he continued to be abusive and kicked out at the police officer and spat at them."

Mr Gurdeep Garcha, defending, offered no excuses for Ward.

He said: "It's hard to imagine a more unpleasant case. Mr Ward realises just how disgraceful his conduct was. This was an attack on the woman who brought him into the world.

"His only mitigation was that he was man enough to plead guilty."

Ward admitted a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault on a police constable.

He had been convicted in February for criminal damage and was given a 12 week sentence suspended for 12 months.

Ward admitted the breach and in total was jailed for 21 months.

He addressed the judge and said: "For 15 years I've been battling alcoholism. I've been around the country doing all manner of work and I've lost it all and it's all down to me. I want to be able to walk down the street with honour."