No jail term for brutal assault on ex-girlfriend

A FURIOUS dad yesterday denounced a soft sentence imposed on the hammer thug who attacked his daughter. Neil Matthews, who likes to call himself a Jedi, was given a nine-month restriction of liberty order after a court was told he now had to use a wheelchair. Sheriff Alastair Thornton said he had to consider his “diminished physical capacity”. Matthews, 36, was said to have an undiagnosed condition brought on by the strain of the court proceedings against him. He brutally attacked his ex-girlfriend with a hammer almost four years ago when she met him to discuss their separation. Yesterday, he was banned from contacting victim Victoria, who asked us not to use her full name, for five years and ordered not to enter her street in Kelty, Fife.

But her dad George insisted that Matthews should have faced an attempted murder charge.

He hit Victoria several times, leaving her bleeding heavily and requiring 12 staples. She has begun to suffer severe migraines since the attack.

George said: “We still do not understand why he was not charged with attempted murder. We firmly believe he planned this attack by having the hammer ready and waiting in the house.

“If you hit someone in the head with a hammer, what possible outcome could you be hoping for apart from them dying? He did not get the punishment that he deserved.” Matthews, who enjoyed dressing up as evil Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars films, was pushed into Dunfermline Sheriff Court by his mother. He showed no emotion when he was sentenced for the assault at his former home in the town. He will be tagged for nine months to prevent him leaving his home overnight. George added: “This case has gone on for almost four years. “We are extremely disappointed because his ill health didn’t start until months after he pled guilty. “Vicky has had to take time off her work with migraines. “She will be disgusted by the sentence as we are but she will also be relieved that it is now finally over.”