A Good Samaritan who tried to help a woman in 'distress' was brutally attacked in front of his daughter by two thug next door neighbours. The victim noticed Dominic Hudson and Paul Bloomfield with two women while he walked down the street 'minding his own business' in Sale, Trafford.
Bloomfield had one woman in a headlock and Hudson, who used to be a successful businessman worth more than £1 million before descending into drug addiction, was shouting at the other. The Good Samaritan, who was with his 12 year-old daughter, shouted out to the women to check if they were okay.
"You each took grave exception to that," a judge said of Hudson and Bloomfield. Bloomfield told him to 'f*** off' before they both pursued him and launched a brutal attack. He was attacked with a pair of scissors and was punched and kicked. At one point he was pinned to the floor.
But the brave victim was able to take a photograph of his attackers which helped land them behind bars. He told the court how he will now be 'more reluctant to help others in future'.
Now the pair, both 47, who both have 'extensive' criminal pasts, have both been jailed for three years and four months. Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard how the incident unfolded on Harboro Road in Sale, where Hudson and Bloomfield were next door neighbours, on Monday, August 1 last year.
The pair became aggressive after their behaviour was challenged, with Bloomfield swearing, making threats and 'getting into his personal space', prosecutor Saul Brody said. He noticed Hudson had a blade before Bloomfield punched him twice to the face. Hudson then landed a blow.
The victim fell over and he was repeatedly punched and kicked, with Bloomfield at one point pinning him down. He was able to fight them off and was able to take a photograph of his attackers.
As he tried to get away, Hudson and Bloomfield followed. A member of the public called the police, and a motorist tried to help by moving her car between the victim and the attackers.
Hudson was arrested at the scene. A bloodstained pair of scissors was found at the scene, and Hudson also had a knuckleduster. Bloomfield ran back to his house and barricaded himself inside. Police forced entry and while he was being detained, he spat at one officer, with blood and saliva hitting her leg.
As officers restrained him, Bloomfield threatened that he would 'just cause pure s***' if his handcuffs were not loosened. The victim suffered a 20cm cut to his left cheek and a deep wound to his chin.
He had difficulty smiling and talking and had to see a specialist, and the disruption caused by his ordeal affected his university studies. He said he was 'scared for his life' and will be 'more reluctant to help others in future'.
Hudson told police that he was 'rattling' during his interview as he was coming down after using heroin. Defending, Estelle Parkhouse said Bloomfield accepted he was the aggressor, and said Hudson would not be in jail if he hadn't behaved as he did.
She said Bloomfield was in care as a child and has had a 'checkered' past. Defending Hudson, Patrick Buckley said that the defendant had once been a 'very successful person worth in excess of £1 million' before descending into drug addiction.
Sentencing, Judge Nigel Bird said of the victim: "He as a concerned citizen noticed your companions were in distress. He shouted over to them to ask if all was well."
Addressing the defendants, he said: "You each took grave exception to that. In effect you have chase and began at what became a prolonged, unpleasant event in his life."
Hudson, of Harboro Road, Sale, pleaded guilty to section 20 wounding, possession of a bladed article and possession of an offensive weapon. Bloomfield, also of Harboro Road, Sale, pleaded guilty to section 20 wounding, possession of a bladed article and assaulting an emergency worker.
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