An ‘overprotective’ son broke a man’s jaw when his mum ‘summoned’ him to a peaceful canal towpath after a row with another dog walker.
Dianne Atkinson said: “Do you know who my son is” after rowing with a couple while walking her dogs at the Peak Forest Canal in Marple, Stockport.
Her son is Simon Jennison, who arrived at the scene after being ‘summoned’ by his mum.
Jennison, 35, ran at his victim Leonard Hall, 66, with his fists clenched and reigned blows at the pensioner who fell to the ground with a broken jaw.
A judge described Jennison’s attack as brutal and cowardly and told the defendant that he had treated one of the most peaceful parts of the suburb “like some kind of inner city truancy”.
“If you want to slug around dishing out Jennison’s law you can think again,” Judge Paul Lawton said during a sentencing hearing at Minshull Street Crown Court.
Father-of-four Jennison, from Marple, walked free from court yesterday (July 30) after admitting causing grievous bodily harm without intent.
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He was handed a two year suspended sentence, ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work, pay £1,500 in compensation and complete a Resolvement programme.
Jennison received a phonecall from Mrs Atkinson who told him she had been involved in an altercation with another couple whilst out walking her two dogs last August 4.
She asked Mr Hall and his wife: “Do you know who my son is?” after they disagreed about who should be allowed to walk through the narrow pathway.
Mrs Atkinson asked Jennison to pick her up, but instead of going home, the mother and son remained in the area and continued to walk along the towpath until they spotted Mr Hall walking back towards them.
Mrs Atkinson pointed Mr Hall out to her son and Jennison ran at the grandfather and punched him three times to the cheek, breaking his jaw and fracturing his cheekbone, the court heard.
Prosecutor Duncan Wilcox told the court that Mr Hall and his wife Vivian saw a younger man running towards them along the towpath.
“He first thought he was a runner or jogger, but he noticed his fists were clenched and then he saw a fist coming towards the left side of his face,” he said.
“The next moment he was waking up on the floor and his skull was bleeding.”
Mr Hall was helped by a passersby and an ambulance was called. He later received treatment at Stepping Hill Hospital and Wythenshawe Hospital but has since struggled with his palate making it difficult for him to eat and drink, the court heard.
In a victim personal statement, Mrs Hall said she ‘froze’ when she saw her husband knocked out cold and now feels ashamed that she didn’t intervene.
“I thought my husband didn’t love me anymore and I’ve been thinking of him stood there whilst someone who would attack me, and how he would intervene,” she said.
The court heard that Mr Hall was diagnosed with severe depression as a result of the attack. He feels anxious when he leaves the house and has relocated from Marple where he had lived for decades.
Jennison pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm without intent.
Adam Watkins, defending, said Jennison has shown genuine remorse and is ‘sickened’ by his own conduct.
But he said the defendant had not gone looking for Mr Hall.
“He turned up, not expecting anything,” he said.
The barrister said Jennison has not been in trouble since his teenage years and had acted “completely out of character” due to concern for his mum.
“He felt overprotective towards his mother,” he said. “His mother has mental health problems and has suffered in the past, one can excuse how he would feel and understand his feelings. “
Sentencing him, Judge Lawton said: “It was very much not your business but your mother summoned you to the scene. I am satisfied you went looking for Mr Hall.
“Your mother told them: “Do you know who my son is”. Your mother shouted: “That’s him!” And identified him to you.
“What you did during that incident was brutal, it was a brutal assault. You ran up to him with no warning whatsoever, you punched him with such a force it broke his jaw and fractured his cheekbone. It has broken his palate.
“This was done with no warning at all and can only be described as a cowardly attack.”
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