1:00pm Saturday 18th October 2008
By Victoria Ashford
A DISABLED man viciously assaulted with an iron bar has spoken of his ordeal after his attacker was jailed for 15 months.
Trevor Goddard, 53, said he is still scared when walking through Warminster town centre after he and his friend Ian Wells, 42, were hit with an iron bar during an unprovoked attack in East Street, Warminster, on June 29.
Their attacker, 23-year-old Neil Matthews, of Masefield Road, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment at Swindon Crown Court on Thursday.
Mr Goddard, who was knocked unconscious in the attack and spent the night at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, walks with a walking stick after recovering from a brain haemorrhage almost five years ago. He also has osteoarthritis to his spine and neck.
He said: “I must admit I am very dubious of walking through the town centre now. If I see youngsters I do feel like getting out of the way.”
Rachel Marshall, prosecuting, told the court how the attacker passed the two men in the street, before launching a volley of abuse at Mr Goddard.
Branding him a ‘cripple,’ Matthews said he would ‘get him’ and asked if Mr Wells was his ‘minder’.
Miss Marshall said the men tried to placate him and held up their hands in a conciliatory way, but he produced an iron bar and struck them both with it.
Matthews pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm and common assault.
David Chidgey, defending, said “Clearly it has to be accepted on behalf of Mr Matthews that this was a disgusting incident. The aggravating features are all too apparent.”
Shortly before the attack he said his client’s partner had still born one of twins, having miscarried the other earlier in the pregnancy.
He said the failure of the pregnancy had a profound effect on both of them and led to Matthews, who works as a salesman, turning to drink. On the night of the attack he carried the weapon after been threatened by soldiers in the town.
Both Mr Goddard and Mr Wells praised police for their quick actions.
He said: “The police were absolutely brilliant. I couldn’t fault them at all.”
Acting sergeant Graham Briant of Warminster police said the sentence reflected the “vicious and senseless’ nature of the attack.
He said: “I dealt with this incident and saw how distraught the victims were on the night and have great sympathy for them.
“They are not the kind of people who get into late night fights and were simply standing outside a pub at closing time chatting quietly to themselves. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
"I'm pleased to have been able to have helped the victims both on the night and all through this case and am very relieved they were not more seriously injured. The whole incident beggars belief and is thankfully still a very rare occurrence indeed"
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