Thug stamped on unconscious man on Featherstone street after England Euro win
A thug who knocked a man unconscious then stamped on his head leaving him with a fractured skull has been handed a lengthy jail sentence.
Glen Atchinson was deemed to be a danger to the public following the unprovoked, vicious assault on the man whom he had been drinking with a short time before.
He was found guilty after a trial of Section 18 wounding with intent.
Leeds Crown Court heard that Atchinson and the victim had been at a mutual friend’s home on Leatham Park Road in Featherstone on July 6 last year.
They were drinking and watching the football that evening - with England defeating Switzerland on penalties during the European Championships.
But at some point the victim fell asleep. He woke to find his glasses had been removed from his face and the keys to his home were gone.
Prosecutor Marte Alnaes said the man has was “becoming increasingly wary” of Atchinson and he was forced to call out a locksmith.
When he got up to meet the locksmith, he heard footsteps from behind him before he was knocked to the ground.
He drifted in an out of consciousness as 48-year-old Atchinson rained blows down on him. During his trial last month it was heard that the arriving locksmith witnessed the brutal assault and saw Atchinson stamp on the lifeless man.
When the police arrived Atchinson continued to be aggressive, and began spitting in the back of the police van. He later claimed he was acting in self defence after the victim attacked him.
The victim suffered facial fractures and loose teeth as well as a fractured skull. The court heard that he already suffered from a life-limiting illness.
Atchinson, of Leatham Park Road, has 67 convictions for 136 offences, including a number for low-level violence.
Mitigating, Chris Morton could offer little to the court because of Atchinson’s denials, but he did point out that his previous convictions for violence were of some age.
Judge Neil Clark told Atchinson: “This was somebody who could not fight back. There really is little mitigation. You were clearly out of control.”
He gave him 12-and-half-year jail sentence, made up of seven-years and-six-months’ custody, and a five-year extended licence period.