Woman hit with brick ‘30 times’
MAN JAILED AFTER HORROR ATTACK AT PUBLIC TOILETS
A THUG hit a woman with a brick ‘30 times’ in the public toilets of a popular West London park as horrified members of the public desperately tried to intervene.
Dylan Beecroft, 31, left the woman “covered in blood” as she crawled out of a disabled toilet in Acton Green Common on March 9 earlier this year.
He launched the “unprovoked and sustained” attack against the woman, using a block of asphalt, because she was taking too long to use a toilet cubicle he regularly used while sleeping rough.
Beecroft appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday September 10 to be sentenced having pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.
The court heard Beecroft was born in England, but grew up in France before being deported back to the UK last year following a series of petty crimes and persistent offending.
He is one of three siblings, though one of his brothers has “psychological problems” and the other took his own life.
Beecroft was homeless in the area, but the court was told he got by through shoplifting.
Acton Green Common, a park popular among dog walkers and families, includes a public toilet containing three cubicles.
One of the three is “more spacious and has a mirror” to allow for disabled access.
This larger cubicle was regularly used by Beecroft and he became “very angry” when he could not enter the toilet because it was being used by the victim
Beecroft initially waited, but grew more agitated the longer he could not access the cubicle.
He began banging on the door with the asphalt block, to which he was told to go away.
A witness walking his dog said he spotted Beecroft “banging on the door” of the cubicle before losing sight of him. The same witness then said he saw the defendant again 20 minutes later with the block “raised over his head”.
The victim opened the cubicle door when she thought Beecroft had left the vicinity. However, he was still outside and “pushed his way in”. Beecroft also locked the door behind him, meaning there was no means of escape.
He “repeatedly” hit her with the block, “slamming it into her head” as he said he was going to kill her, the court heard.
The attack lasted for seven minutes and was only broken up when members of the public were finally able to intervene.
The woman then “crawled out the cubicle covered in blood”, the court heard. Blood was also splattered all over the cubicle as onlookers detained an emotionless Beecroft until police arrived.
The victim suffered “extensive” and “serious” injuries, including a fractured left cheek, broken orbital bone, broken nose, deep lacerations and bruising to her hands from trying to fight off Beecroft’s attack.
Her Honour Judge Anne Molyneux told the court: “She heard you repeatedly banging on the door and she told you to wait. When it stopped, she went to leave. However, you were waiting outside and didn’t let her leave.
“You pushed your way in and locked the door behind you, meaning she could not leave. You repeatedly hit her with the block. You raised it above your head and slammed it into her. You said you were going to kill her and you didn’t stop for seven minutes.
“The injuries to her face are extensive and the cubicle was splattered with her blood. She felt as if she was hit 30 times.”
“It is life-changing. She was terrified and didn’t know what was to become of her and feared for her life.
“She suffers from ongoing anxiety and fears when going out. Her peace of mind has been destroyed.”
Beecroft was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison.
Beecroft, of no fixed abode, must also serve an additional four years on licence at the end of this term.