Terrified man told 'get on your knees bruv' during brutal axe attack

Yahoo

16 hours ago

A terrified man was told "get on your knees bruv" as thugs "took the law into their own hands" and carried out a brutal attack.
The vigilantes punched and kicked the victim - who they believed had stolen a £6,500 quad bike - and one of them threatened "I will kill you" as they wielded the axe.
Following the attack, the victim was taken to hospital where he was treated for a 4-5cm wound to the back of his head, swelling to his scalp and bruising to his head.
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Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court was told that Lewis Tether, 26, was angry after his quad bike was stolen, and believed a man in Biddulph was responsible for the theft.
Along with Samuel Clarke, 25, and another man, Tether went after him on January 8, finding him with friends at Church Road playing fields in Biddulph.
The group ran off but the Clarke caught up with the victim and said: "Get on your knees bruv, I am here for the blue quad".
StokeonTrentLive reports that Tether arrived wielding an axe and hit the victim eight times to his head, back and ribs before delivering a kick and punch.
Clarke kicked the victim once and punched him four times before noticing the assault was being captured on a Ring doorbell and discarding it to the floor.
The court heard the defendants were identified from CCTV.
Hamish Noble, mitigating for Tether, said his client was remorseful and the offence was "out of character".
Meanwhile Paul Cliff, representing Clarke, said the dad-of-four was "bitterly disappointed with himself".
Tether, of Moston Street, Birches Head, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article in public. He was jailed for four years.
Clarke, of Church Close, Biddulph, was locked up for three years and nine months after he pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. His plea was on the basis that he was not in possession of a bladed article.
Tether must serve two-thirds of his sentence with the rest on licence, while Clarke must serve up to half of his term with the rest on licence
In a victim statement, the victim revealed the attack left him depressed and he no longer goes out.
He added: "I just hope that the pain eases and I can try to get my life back to how it was."
Recorder Robert Smith told the pair: "He was utterly terrified by your coordinated group attack.
"Tether threatened with the axe, 'I will kill you'. You hit him eight times to the head, back and rib area and punched him once and kicked him once. Clarke you kicked once and punched four times.
"Tether, you told the police, 'If you did your job right, people would not have to take the law into their own hands'.
"This was a nasty vigilante attack. You thought the victim was responsible for the theft of a quad bike belonging to Tether.
"There is a certain irony because Tether, you are a professional vehicle thief.
"You took the law into your own hands in circumstances when it was far from clear who was responsible for the theft of your quad bike. You should have called the police.
"Clarke, you were a willing and enthusiastic participant."