Thug told man ‘go to sleep, you c***' before stamping on him with fake leg – leaving victim needing round-the-clock care
A THUG told a man "go to sleep you c***" before he stamped on him with his fake leg and left the victim needing round-the-clock care.
Shannon Meaney called 57-year-old John Lowe over to him in a park in Salford before placing him in a headlock and shoving him to the ground.
3
The 34-year-old then began violently kicking and stamping on the victim - using his prosthetic leg to inflict the blows.
At one point he asked a man with him to pass over a hammer before making the chilling remark.
John was later found dumped at the side of a path and struggling to breathe following the February 2023 attack.
A shocking photo shows the dad hooked up to tubes in his hospital bed after suffering a traumatic brain injury.
John now requires 24/7 support as a result of the savage assault and has been forced to move to a care home.
His daughter said: "He cannot talk, eat, sleep, get dressed without help, he has no chance of getting better or getting his memory back.
"My dad will never recover from his injuries and continue a normal life. He is just the shell of a man - he is like a stranger to me. His life was taken from him.'
Meaney was today jailed for life with a minimum of 13-and-a-half years after he pleaded guilty to assault.
Sentencing, Recorder of Manchester, Judge Nicholas Dean KC said: 'You have condemned Mr Lowe to a living death. His own daughter said he has zero quality of life.
"That is what you condemned him to - and for what reason?'
Manchester Crown Court was told former fitness instructor Meaney had been the victim of an assault in 2015 which saw him lose his leg following surgery.
He suffered with PTSD and had spiralled into drug addiction.
On Valentine's Day, 2023, he was sat in the park with an acquaintance when saw John.
He told the witness "I'm going to do him in" before launching into the savage attack.
The court heard Meaney believed John had given his dad some tablets, which had caused him to fall ill.
A "red mist" then descended as he began battering the victim in "revenge", it was said.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Higginson from our Serious Crime Division said; 'Throughout this incident is a man and his loved ones who are having to come to terms with the consequences of this vicious attack which nearly cost John his life.
'Since we took on this case, we have faced challenges and setbacks but have remained resilient in securing the best possible outcome.
'We were determined to do everything possible to ensure Meaney has to face the consequences of his actions knowing the impact they have had on John's life.
"I would like to commend John's family for their bravery, and the support they have given the investigation, especially his daughter, who has made clear the severe challenges they are continuing to try to overcome.'
3
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
21 hours ago
- Metro
'I had to snort pure glucose': Inside BBC's outstanding 80s crime drama
It's a first-world problem but, while I'm at a chilly, damp Twickenham Studios on Valentine's Day, I can't help wishing the team from The Gold had invited me on set a couple of weeks later. When the Bafta-nominated first series finished, several of the criminals who had stolen and laundered the bullion from the 1983 Brink's-Mat heist – at the time, the biggest robbery in British history – were behind bars, yet DCI Brian Boyce and his compact task force were realising that half the gold remained unaccounted for. The second series rejoins the money-laundering trail in the late 1980s as it splits between the UK and the Isle of Man and the sunnier climes of Tenerife (which also doubles as South America and the British Virgin Islands). 'We'll be filming in Tenerife for eight weeks,' grins Hugh Bonneville, who returns as the dogged, incorruptible Boyce. 'It's a much bigger canvas this time – we shot in some buildings in London that clearly were built on Brink's-Mat money for season one, but this time you see the money leaking out into Tenerife and the tax havens. 'You begin to realise it funded drug imports and the beginnings of the ecstasy boom in the UK. The ripple effect of this one event in November 1983 is remarkable.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video I watch on as Boyce subjects a quivering suspect to a fearsome grilling – with retirement drawing near, the copper clearly intends to leave on a high, and Hugh clearly relished the opportunity to talk to Boyce himself, now in his mid-80s but still a formidable figure. 'Brian took me and [series creator] Neil Forsyth out to lunch as we were starting season one, so I reciprocated after it had been on. He likes to talk about the old days and took me through his entire career: he was on the squad that knocked down the door to get Ronnie and Reggie Kray! 'He was very courteous and thanked us for respecting the way they went about their work, which was very heartening. You get the sense he was a good leader who absolutely relied on teamwork.' Boyce and his team – returning coppers Nicki Jennings (Charlotte Spencer), Tony Brightwell (Emun Elliott) plus maverick newcomer Tony Lundy (Stephen Campbell Moore) – have two main quarries. One is Charlie Miller (Sam Spruell), a minor villain briefly glimpsed in series one waiting it out in Spain for the dust to settle. Now, though, he's back to claim his stash from its Cornish hiding place. 'It's a cat-and-mouse chase around the world as Charlie tries to use his ill-gotten gains to go legit, to be taken seriously and become a financial player,' says Sam. 'He has a strategy and he's very determined – no matter what goes wrong, he will make the best of it. He just keeps going despite the knockbacks, and as an actor I could relate to that, even admire him for it.' Miller, Sam concedes, doesn't quite have the capacity to realise his aspirations, and brings in Joshua Maguire's crooked lawyer Douglas Baxter to assist him. 'Baxter is the brains and has that class confidence and access Charlie lacks,' says Sam. 'They spend a lot of time being cross with each other, a bit like Laurel and Hardy.' Boyce's other prime target is the returning west-country gold smelter John Palmer (Tom Cullen) who, in contrast to Miller, works alone and is sitting pretty as the self-styled 'King of Tenerife'. 'Since he successfully defended himself in court [in season one], Palmer has a sense of freedom,' explains Tom. 'He's fitter, happier and wearing nicer suits. He can grow into his wealth now and enjoy it, having been driven all his life to better himself after growing up in immense poverty. Not a nice person, but fascinating to play.' Palmer's improved physical condition, though, is undermined by a deteriorating psychological one. 'Palmer has this innate confidence,' explains Tom. 'He's always assessing every option, like a chess player. But other factions are moving in on his empire so he's cutting deals and making alliances along with having to juggle his wife, children and mistresses, which comes with its stresses for him. 'I don't know how he had the energy for it all! The gold is infecting him as greed and power become complete obsessions.' More Trending The problems only mount as Palmer starts to sink into cocaine addiction – an experience, laughs Tom, almost as trying for the actor as it was for the character. 'The fake coke is pure glucose, and it absolutely f**ked me. We did one scene, the last of the day at about 8pm, where I had to snort this humongous line in Palmer's private plane, which is just ridiculous – everything in it is gold. I think I fell asleep about 1am.' He wags a finger at me – a final warning in a cautionary tale for the ages. 'Don't do glucose, kids!' View More » The Gold season 2 begins at 9pm on June 8 on BBC One. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: BBC's 'brilliant' true crime drama made me question my own morals MORE: Divisive horror movie full of 'grotesque monsters' now streaming on BBC iPlayer MORE: 'Doctor Who's finale infuriated fans – but the next series will fix everything'
Western Telegraph
2 days ago
- Western Telegraph
HMRC admits £47 million loss in breach of taxpayer accounts
Two senior civil servants at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) told the Treasury Committee that 100,000 people have been contacted, or are in the process of being contacted, after their accounts were locked down in what they said was an 'organised crime' incident which began last year. Taxpayers who are being affected will suffer 'no financial loss', according to John-Paul Marks, the chief executive of HMRC, the UK's tax authority. Mr Marks told the Committee: 'It's about 0.2% of the PAYE population, around 100,000 people, who we have written to, are writing to, to notify them that we detected activity on their PAYE account.' Asked if this applied to individual working people's PAYE accounts, not companies, he replied: 'That's right, individuals. To be clear, no financial loss to those individuals. Mr Marks added: 'This was organised crime phishing for identity data outwith of HMRC systems, so stuff that banks and others will also unfortunately experience, and then trying to use that data to create PAYE accounts to pay themselves a repayment and/or access an existing account.' An investigation into the matter, which took place last year 'including jurisdictions outside the UK', led to 'some arrests last year,' Mr Marks told MPs. Angela MacDonald, HMRC's deputy chief executive and second permanent secretary, added: 'At the moment, they've managed to extract repayments to the tune of £47 million. 'Now that is a lot of money, and it's very unacceptable. 'We have overall, in the last tax year, we actually protected £1.9 billion worth of money which sought to be taken from us by attacks.' Get your tax return done early and find out sooner if you're owed money. ⏲️ We'll let you know if you've overpaid tax after you file your Self-Assessment tax return and refund you. 💷 File today. 👇 — HM Revenue & Customs (@HMRCgovuk) June 3, 2025 Ms MacDonald stressed the breach was 'not a cyber attack, we have not been hacked, we have not had data extracted from us'. She later added: 'The ability for somebody to breach your systems and to extract data, to hold you to ransomware and all of those things, that is a cyber attack. That is not what has happened here.' HMRC said it had locked down affected accounts and deleted log-in details to prevent future unauthorised access. Any incorrect information has been removed from tax records and officials have checked to ensure no other details have been changed. People affected will receive a letter from HMRC over the next three weeks. Elsewhere, Mr Marks told MPs that HMRC phone lines were down on Wednesday afternoon, but said this was 'coincidental'. They will be 'back up and available in the morning', he added. Recommended reading: An HMRC spokesperson said: 'We've acted to protect customers after identifying attempts to access a very small minority of tax accounts, and we're working with other law enforcement agencies both in the UK and overseas to bring those responsible to justice. 'This was not a cyber-attack – it involved criminals using personal information from phishing activity or data obtained elsewhere to try to claim money from HMRC. 'We're writing to those customers affected to reassure them we've secured their accounts and that they haven't lost any money.'
The Courier
2 days ago
- The Courier
Fife school embroiled in child abuse scandal was 'house of horrors' says mum of ex-pupil
The mother of a pupil at a Fife residential school has described it as 'a house of horrors'. The woman's son John was a pupil at Starley Hall School in Burntisland in 2000 and 2001. She told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry that John, who died in February this year, was in fear for his life there after being physically and psychologically abused. She said the teenager was restrained, choked and had his face rubbed in vomit. Four men appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2019, accused of physical and sexual abuse of 34 children at Starley Hall, a school for children with additional support needs. However, all were acquitted following trial. Despite that, Claire, a pseudonym, branded her son's treatment at the hands of some staff 'dehumanising'. She said her concerns began before John even started at the school. 'On the day we visited one of the young boys came up to him and said 'you don't want to come here',' she said. John, also a pseudonym, gave evidence in the 2019 high court case. And the statement he gave to police about abuse at Starley Hall School was read out to the inquiry. He was sent to Starley Hall as he had dyslexia, writing problems and poor memory. He was labelled disruptive and placed on a supervision order. John's statement told how he received regular 'back-handers' to the face from staff. And an incident between him and another pupil let to staff seriously assaulting him. 'I was restrained on the floor by four members of staff,' his statement said. 'One kneed me in the ribs, which made me vomit on the floor. 'They put my head in the vomit so I couldn't breathe. 'And I was choking on the vomit still in my mouth.' In another incident, a teacher restricted his breathing until he blacked out. John's evidence told how he wrote to his mother several times, telling her what was happening to him. However, staff did not post his letters. In 2019, John described Starley Hall as 'the place that ruined my life'. And he added: 'I want these people to be held accountable.' Claire told the inquiry the result of the court case sent her son into a spiral of anxiety and depression. She later sent a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Fife Council asking for a Starley Hall inspection report from 1998, just two years before John attended. It revealed some of the accommodation was neglected, resulting in registration for those parts not being approved. It also said the number of incidents related to behaviour, accidents or bullying was a cause for concern. 'I find it beyond words that this house of horrors was allowed to exist,' Claire said.
