Man having his tea was dragged from house, kicked and bitten in 'cowardly' attack

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A man was dragged from a house before being kicked and bitten in a "cowardly" attack, a court heard.

Stewart Thomas Clarke, 31, of Crispin Lane, Wrexham, and Nigel Clutton, 35, of Stratford Close, Acton, Wrexham, both admitted assaulting Gareth Thomas when they appeared at Mold Crown Court on Tuesday.

Describing the attack as "cowardly", Judge Rhys Rowlands said the two men acted together and left the victim with a number of injuries.

Clarke, who is already serving a prison sentence for robbery, was given a 15-month prison term to be served concurrently.

The judge gave Clutton a suspended sentence of 15 months and ordered him to undergo 20 days of rehabilitation activity and pay Mr Thomas £1,250 in compensation.

Clutton was also ordered to pay £250 towards prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £140.

Ryan Rothwell, prosecuting, said the 53-year-old victim had received a number of threatening text messages from a number he did not recognise during the afternoon of April 9 last year.

He had gone to his ex-partner's home and was eating his tea when there was a loud knock on the front door.

When he went to see what the commotion was, he was dragged out and assaulted, the court heard.

"There was something of a struggle between Mr Thomas and Clutton, during which the defendant bit his ear and would not let go," said Mr Rothwell.

"The other defendant, Clarke, then got out of the car and took a running kick at Mr Thomas to the head. He then kicked him again with force."

Mr Thomas was left with bruises to the head and ribs, but an X-ray showed no bones were broken, said the barrister.

Arrested later, Clarke denied being involved in the assault, while Clutton refused to answer police questions.

Defence counsel Duncan Bould said Clutton had been drinking heavily that day and, had he been sober, would not have sent the threatening messages and would not have assaulted Mr Thomas.

He urged the judge to consider suspending the prison term, noting the guilty plea, the delay in bringing the prosecution, and the fact that Clutton had not re-offended in the meantime.

Andrew Green, for Clarke, asked the judge to consider making the jail term concurrent with the current sentence.

He added Clarke was making good use of his time in prison and planned to move away from the Wrexham area following his release.