Jail for ‘cowardly’ attack on grandad

DISFIGURED and heartbroken that his granddaughter now finds him scary to look at, the 57-year-old victim of a brutal assault watched as two of his “cowardly” attackers were sentenced in the Supreme Court in Launceston on Wednesday.

Steven Anthony Dunne, 27, and Paul Lance Broad, 28, pleaded guilty to wounding Phillip Adams in the driveway of his Youngtown home before midnight on June 17 last year.

The court heard the attack was motivated by bad blood between Dunne and the victim’s son.

Dunne, Broad and a third unidentified man drove to Mr Adams’ home and did a burnout outside while the third man struck Mr Adams’ car with a large axe.

When Mr Adams ran out of his house and hit the back of Dunne’s car with a small bat, the men attacked him.

Broad wrestled with Mr Adams while Dunne struck him to the legs, abdomen, head and face with the axe.

The incident was captured on CCTV and shown in court.

Mr Adams was left with a fractured vertebrae, broken shoulder, broken and avulsed teeth and lacerations to his head, gums, lower abdomen and ribs.

His victim impact statement said his granddaughter had told him he looked scary without teeth.

“It breaks my heart,” it said. Broad was sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment backdated to June 19, 2019, and with a non-parole period of 18 months.

Dunne’s sentence was discounted to two years after he promised to give evidence against the third man at trial.

PATRICK GEE