A B&Q worker who beat a co-worker "within an inch of her life" in a pair of steel toe-capped boots has been found guilty of attempted murder.
Andy Hurns had been released early from a 40-month prison term for causing death by dangerous driving of a pregnant mum after towing an unroadworthy van for 27 miles.
He was jailed in 2018 but, on November 24, 2020, he committed another horrific offence when he tried to kill the co-worker who had done nothing more than offer Hurns, a cyclist, a lift to work if the weather was bad.
Hurns, who worked at the distribution outlet in Retford Road, Worksop, was found guilty by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, February 18, of trying to kill the woman, who lived alone in a property opposite where Hurns used to live.
He forced his way through her front door, demanding cash and jewellery from her, and when she resisted, he beat her within an inch of her life, only stopping when police arrived.
The jury saw pictures of blood around her Tunnel Road home, in Retford, all hallmarks of the savage beating he inflicted.
He kicked her in the head and ribs as she lay defenceless on the floor, and braced himself against a door and stamped on her face.
When she attempted to escape, he pulled her back into the house, dragging her and closing the door behind him.
The jury also saw pictures of her injuries - her horribly swollen face and a gaping wound near her left eye, which was caused by Hurns' steel toe-capped boots when he kicked her in the face.
Hurns, 32, of Edgbaston Drive in Retford, faces sentencing on April 11 and will remain in custody as reports are prepared.
The judge, Gregory Dickinson QC, the recorder for Nottingham, said he had dealt with cases before with injuries as bad as this - but only in murder cases where the victim has died.
"It appears to be without reason, which makes it more serious and troubling", he added.
The sentencing choice in this case is between life imprisonment or an extended determinate sentence.
The probation service will prepare a report to consider dangerousness.
The judge explained to the jury a little bit about sentencing.
They heard during the trial Hurns' had received 40 months in prison for causing death by dangerous driving and was released at the halfway point.
The judge said it was often reported that judges suspend half the sentence in cases.
But he stressed it is an Act of Parliament that says defendants are released at the halfway point.
In more serious cases, the sentence to serve is two-thirds. A court has the power to impose an extended prison sentence, so the licence period is longer. In that scenario, a defendant would serve two-thirds and must apply to the Parole Board for release.
"The choice for me in this case is between an extended prison sentence of considerable length, of which he must serve two-thirds, or an alternative, is a sentence of life in prison, which I am required to specify the minimum he must serve before he can apply to the Parole Board for release.
"I haven't made up my mind".
Andy Hurns served time in prison for causing death by dangerous driving
Lukasz Orywal, 32, and Andy Hurns, then aged 28, had each been jailed for three years and nine months in 2018 after they both admitted causing the death of Aneta Zdeb, 26, by dangerous driving.
But a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court was told both men were entitled to full credit for their guilty pleas.
Judge Simon Hirst reduced his original sentence on both men to three years and four months.
The judge said: "Whatever the rights and wrongs of it, both men should have the same sentence."
The sentencing hearing in September was told Orywal had fitted a "makeshift" tow bar and arranged for Hurns to travel behind him after buying the van as a "non runner" for just £300.
Eyewitnesses described how the Vauxhall Movano van being controlled by Hurns could be seen swinging from side to side over the centre white line and bumping into the back of the Chrysler Voyager being driven by Orywal.
As the two vehicles sped down a hill on the A17 at Leadenham, Lincolnshire, at 55mph the tow bar broke sending Orywal's car spinning at 45 degrees in to the opposite carriageway.
It collided with a VW Passatt car being driven by lorry driver and company director Kamil Zdeb, 27, who was taking his young family from their home in Bradford to visit friends in Spalding.
His wife, Aneta, who was 14 weeks pregnant and sat next to the couple's three-year-old daughter in the rear of the car, suffered traumatic injuries to her liver and heart from the massive impact.
She died just a few hours later after being admitted to the Queen's Medical Centre.
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