A jealous Warrington man launched a vicious attack with a baseball bat at a man he believed was seeing his ex-boyfriend.
Paul Hogg turned up at the home of Duncan Walmsley-White, where he knew his ex-partner was, and when the door was opened he was pushed in the chest by Mr Walmsley-White.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today (February 25) there was a confrontation between the two men after which Mr Hogg went away.
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But Bernice Campbell, prosecuting, said: "However Mr Hogg returned a short time later with a baseball bat.”
CCTV footage was played to court showing the moment Mr Walmsley-White opened the door of his Birchwood home again on that evening of January 26 this year.
59-year-old Hogg, of Dunnock Grove, Birchwood, immediately began to hit the victim and forced his way in and continued to hit him several times with the weapon to the head and body.
Ms Campbell said Hogg’s former partner, James Osmond, was also assaulted during the incident and the two men “bundled” Mr Hogg out during which he suffered some injuries.
Hogg, who had been drinking, left the scene and when spoken to by police claimed they had attacked him with the bat and blamed them for his injuries.
Ms Campbell said: “He says he cannot really recollect what happened.”
She also told the court in the pre-sentence report Hogg referred to jealousy over Mr Osmond seeing Mr Walmsley-White “which is denied".
Hogg pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Walmsley-White causing actual bodily harm, common assault on Mr Ormond and possessing an offensive weapon.
Jailing him for eight months the judge Recorder Simon Parrington said, “I have seen the CCTV and read the papers and it reveals an extremely unpleasant attack using a weapon.
“I take the view it was a dangerous weapon and I have no doubt you caused the injuries, luckily not as serious as they might have been. Nevertheless it was a very serious assault.”
Charlotte Kenny, defending, said that although the injuries were unpleasant they were not the most serious within the classification for that level of assault.
Ms Kenny said: “He is very regretful that this happened.
“From an early age he faced vulnerability in life which explains why from an early age he was involved in criminality but for the past 13 years he has not been in trouble.
“In childhood he was abandoned by his mother and lost his father at the age of ten. He has never really recovered.”
Ms Kenny said that he suffered from a degree of post traumatic stress disorder and needed counselling.
She said: "His relationship with Mr Osmond had been perhaps not the healthiest and was volatile on occasions.”
She said that there had been an age difference and Hogg had spent a considerable period of time looking after Mr Osmond because of his vulnerabilities.
“He felt extremely betrayed by what happened and felt let down.
"He also felt Mr Osmond’s vulnerabilities which include drinking were being allowed again to take hold while in Mr Walmsley-White’s company.”
Ms Kenny said that there was “an element of jealousy” and he should not have gone round to the house but he had been upset at things on his telephone.
He went round and there was “minor pushing and shoving” which led to him being “gripped with somewhat of a rage. He saw red and foolishly took a bat baseball to the property and the inevitable happened.
“He puts it down to a sense of betrayal he felt.
"It was an utterly appalling decision and appalling results. He is very sorry.”
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