Broom attack thug is handed jail sentence
A man who repeatedly punched his victim before battering him with a broom handle and carpet gripper was today starting a two-and-a-half year jail sentence.
A man who repeatedly punched his victim before battering him with a broom handle and carpet gripper was today starting a two-and-a-half year jail sentence.
Matthew Hodgkinson also tried to strangle the "helpless" man and gouge his eye sockets, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
Hodgkinson, 32, then ran off leaving the victim lying on the blood-stained carpet of the flat in Stroud Avenue, Willenhall, with his face and neck slashed and bruised in the early hours of July 3.
Prosecutor Mr Mark Rees told the court yesterday: "He launched the attack without warning after being allowed into the flat, punching the other man 20 or 30 times.
"He then tried to strangle him and attempted to gouge his eye sockets out before hitting the man on the head and face with a wooden broom handle and metal carpet gripper picked up in the property. Then he ran away."
The victim was taken to hospital for treatment after being found by a friend soon after the attack and Hodgkinson was arrested at his home in Simpson Grove, Fallings Park, four days later.
He denied being involved until shortly before his trial was due to start when he admitted assaulting the victim who had learning difficulties, the court heard.
Mr Oliver Woolhouse, defending Hodgkinson who had previous convictions for violence, said: "There had been a phone call between the two men about half an hour before this happened and he was angered by what had been said but he is ashamed of what he did.
"He had not gone there to carry out an assault.
"What happened occurred in the heat of the moment whilst he was in drink.
"He acknowledges that all his offending has come about while he was heavily under the influence of alcohol and he knows he needs some help with that."
Hodgkinson admitted assault and was jailed by Judge John Wait, who told him: "You have a very long record of serious violence and went round looking for a confrontation with somebody you must have known was vulnerable.
"You were in drink and it was a sustained attack in which you used weapons on him when he was helpless, causing serious injuries," the judge added.
