Duo’s attack victim had skull fractured from weapon blow

A MAN’S skullbone was fractured into small pieces after he was attacked with a weapon in a village street.

The victim was injured by Reece O’brien and Deacon Cooper outside a chip shop in High Street, Edwinstowe, after 7.30pm on January 18.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that both men got out of a vehicle, were aggressive and appeared to be armed.

O’brien struck the victim to the right side of his head and Cooper waved a weapon around.

The man was hit again twice by O’brien, which caused him to fall to the ground.

The man had two wounds to the right side of his head with a fractured bone and needed surgery.

Both men pleaded guilty to wounding and criminal damage, which they admitted at a previous court hearing.

The criminal damaged happened on March 6 at the same victim’s home at 7.05pm. A group of six males attended and smashed windows.

O’brien, 27, of Crispin Court, Mansfield, was described by his barrister, Simon Eckersley, as being “lightly convicted” and a man who has been in employment “throughout his adult life”.

He said this was not O’brien’s argument and he was asked to support his co-accused.

Cooper, 21, of Trinity Road, Mansfield, had never been in trouble before in his life, said Barry Grennan, who represented him.

“He accepts punching and kicking and denies attacking anyone with a weapon. He split the fight up before it developed any further.”

Judge Rosalind Coe QC, who sentenced them both, said: “There clearly is a background to this.”

She said it was a particularly nasty attack. The victim had made a recovery and was back at work.

The criminal damage she said was, it seems, “some kind of revenge attack”.

Both men have spent the last ten months in custody on remand.

The judge setenced them to two years in prison each, suspended for two years, 20 rehabilitation activity days and 100 hours of unpaid work. They were fined £250 each for the criminal damage.