A woman screamed at a thug to 'get away from her house' before he hit her in the face with a hammer while her two children watched on.
Andrew Kirby launched the vicious attack on his girlfriend's sister following an argument in October last year, the Liverpool Echo reports. The 31-year-old's girlfriend Emma Sharelle was involved in an argument with her sister Leah, before Kirby became involved.
David Watson, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court how at around 3am, Emma was at her address in Glebe Hey when she was woken by the defendant and his brother, Michael Kirby, at the front door.
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Both men directed verbal abuse at Ms Sharelle and her partner Ricky Kilvington. Ms Sharelle screamed at Kirby to 'get away from her house', as her children, aged 3 and 14, were present.
A scuffle then took place between Mr Kilvington, who had a hammer in his possession, and Kirby. Mr Watson said: "Ms Sharelle describes herself, in order to protect her partner, fighting in the front yard with the defendant and throwing him to the floor.
“Leah Sharelle then describes the defendant standing up from the floor armed with a hammer, and hitting her once in the face with it. She then punched the defendant in the face in self defence, causing him to fall over a wall."
Kirby and his brother then fled the scene. Ms Sharelle suffered a bi-lateral fracture to her nose, a wound to her lip and left eye, and bruising and swelling to her left foot.
Kirby was arrested on October 23 last year, and accepted attending the address but denied hitting the victim with a hammer. A victim personal statement was written by Ms Sharelle and detailed the long-term effects suffered by the attack, including a scar to her eye and lip.
It read: “I do not go out anymore due to the scarring on my face, I feel ugly. I don’t want to be looked at, this is not what I wanted for my life.”
The victim detailed that she has moved her family out of Merseyside because of the incident, and that her children have been affected after witnessing the attack. Kirby, of St Oswalds Street, Old Swan, has 23 convictions for 33 offences, including two convictions for battery in 2019 and 2021.
Kate Morley, defending, said: "He accepts that his actions were wholly disproportionate, Mr Kirby has expressed regret for his behaviour. It was a weapon produced by the partner and he picked it up from the ground on impulse, and it was one blow."
She detailed he has been diagnosed with ADHD, and struggles with his mental health, and that this is his longest period in custody. Judge David Aubrey KC said: “She is a vulnerable woman and she was in her own home when your client and his brother turned up.”
He added that this is the third time Kirby has been in court for an attack on a woman, and has been assessed as a high risk of harm to a known person or to a future partner.
Kirby pleaded guilty to one count of wounding. He was sentenced to 29 months imprisonment and a restraining order barring him from contacting the victim was implemented for ten years.
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