A man who attacked two strangers leaving one lying in the road unconscious has been spared jailed. Police say two men and a teenager were in the Sherwood Road area of Harworth on October 30 when they heard an argument coming from a nearby property.
The trio made their way to a car in a bid to leave the area. But as two of them climbed inside, a third, a 56-year-old man, was punched in the face by Scott Houghton.
Houghton, 29, knocked his unsuspecting victim to the ground. Police say he then proceeded to kick him in the head and face.
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Officers believe Houghton had been arguing with a woman at an address nearby before approaching his victims. And his onslaught didn't stop after the man was on the floor.
He then opened the driver's door and pulled the second man, a 34-year-old, out of the vehicle. Houghton punched him in the face causing cuts to his lips.
In sheer fear the teenager then ran away in an attempt to stop being hurt by Houghton's blows. Houghton then returned to his first victim, and continued to kick him in the head until he lost consciousness.
Houghton, of College Road, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday (3 January) he was given a 22-month jail sentence, suspended for 24 months. He was also ordered to complete 160 hours of unpaid work, to abide by an electronic curfew and pay £300 in compensation.
Detective Sergeant Jackie Price, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was an attack on two complete strangers who were simply just trying to go home after enjoying their evening. This attack was completely out of the blue and left one of the victims with serious facial injuries including eight of his teeth being knocked out, more loose teeth, and cuts and bruises to his head.
“The other victim was also left with injuries to his face but the mental impact of this vicious attack is far greater and this incident will no doubt have had a huge effect emotionally on both victims and the witness. No-one can go around behaving in this way and believe they can get away with it.
“We will never tolerate this kind of violent behaviour on our streets and will always do everything we can to find those responsible and put them before the courts as we have shown in this instance. Anyone who behaves in such a way should expect a knock on the door from officers.”
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