A claw hammer wielding thug attacked a mum and her young kids as she pushed the children in a pram, a court has heard.
David Voyce hit the woman on the head from behind with the weapon and proceeded to take a swing at a toddler in the pram
The mother started bleeding from a wound on her forehead but was able to fight off the 46-year-old and save herself and her daughter, Wales Online reports.
Voyce has almost 300 previous offences on his record including a string of violent attacks on women, and a judge has said he has no doubt a life sentence is needed to protect the public from him.
The incident occurred on the early evening of Tuesday, October 27, last year as she pushed her kids to sleep in a pram in Briton Ferry, Wales, Swansea Crown Court heard. The defendant approached the woman from behind as she walked in a lane off Short Street the defendant and struck her a number of times to the head with a claw hammer without warning or reason.
Voyce then took aim at the woman's three-year-old daughter who was next to her sibling in the double buggy but the woman managed to parry the blow. The pair ended up grappling in the lane before the mum disarmed her assailant. During the struggle the pram toppled over but the youngsters were not injured.
Voyce made off, and a couple living in a house next to the lane went to the woman's aid. The court heard the woman was bleeding profusely from a cut to her forehead but fortunately the wound was only superficial.
Police launched a manhunt for the attacker, and Voyce was arrested the following week. When detained he was found to be in possession of a knife and screwdriver.
In a victim impact statement which was read to court, the woman said she had always felt safe walking her children in the evening in the Neath area but no longer did so, and had moved away to live with her sister. She said whenever she was out of sight of her children they became upset.
David Anthony Voyce, of Dalton Road, Neath, denied being responsible for the attack, claiming it was a case of mistaken identity, but was convicted at trial of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, attempting to causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and possession of an offensive weapon.
He has 38 previous convictions for 291 offences including affrays, robbery, unlawful wounding which saw him repeatedly punching a woman and hitting her with a length of wood, grievous bodily harm with intent - when he dragged a woman out of a house and repeatedly punched and kicked her before hitting her with a crow bar - assault occasioning actual bodily harm, threatening probation and prison staff, and possession of an offensive weapon.
Ieuan Rees, for Voyce, said there was little he could say on behalf of his client who did not admit his guilt, showed no remorse, and refused to co-operate with a pre-sentence report. He said it seemed the defendant had become "almost institutionalised" by the lengthy periods of time he had spent in custody over the years, and all he could invite the court to do was to exercise mercy.
Judge Huw Rees said it was hard to imagine a more frightening experience for the woman than to be the victim of a random attack in the street while pushing her children in a pram. He said "showing the courage only a mother could show" she had protected her children from Voyce, and it was fortunate and remarkable that she herself suffered only a superficial injury.
The judge said the consequences if the defendant had managed to hit the child in the pram with the hammer "beggars belief".
Judge Rees said he readily accepted Voyce should be regarded as a dangerous offender within the meaning of the legislation, and the only question for him was whether a sentence of determinate length was sufficient to protect the public.
He said given the facts of the case and Voyce's "appalling" record of offending he had come to the conclusion that a life sentence was appropriate.
Voyce was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum sentence term of nine years and 137 days - that is 10 years minus the time the defendant has spent in prison on remand.
The judge said Voyce cannot apply for parole before the completion of the minimum term, and it will be for the Parole Board to decide if the defendant is safe to be released. If the defendant is ever released he will be on licence for the rest of his life, and can be recalled to prison at any time.
Speaking after the sentencing South Wales Police detective constable Kurt Jones said: "This was a frightening attack on a lone female with her young children. David Voyce has shown no remorse for his actions, and put the victim through the ordeal of a court trial. He has been found guilty and will now, quite rightly, be serving a lengthy custodial sentence."
He added: "I would like to re-assure the local community that these incidents are rare however when they do occur the police, CPS and courts will work together to put these dangerous individuals behind bars."
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