25 months’ jail for man who attacked couple on South Yorkshire street

A man who attacked a couple on a South Yorkshire street has been put behind bars for over two years.
The attack took place at the junction of Wilthorpe Avenue and Wilthorpe Crescent in Barnsley. Picture: GoogleThe attack took place at the junction of Wilthorpe Avenue and Wilthorpe Crescent in Barnsley. Picture: Google
The attack took place at the junction of Wilthorpe Avenue and Wilthorpe Crescent in Barnsley. Picture: Google

In the hours leading up to the street attack on September 16 last year, Philip Allsopp’s victims had been enjoying a day out with their family at Wilthorpe Park in Barnsley. 

Sheffield Crown Court heard how Allsopp, 42, attacked his female victim as she attempted to pass him at the junction of Wilthorpe Avenue and Wilthorpe Crescent, on her way home. 

The attack took place at the junction of Wilthorpe Avenue and Wilthorpe Crescent in Barnsley. Picture: GoogleThe attack took place at the junction of Wilthorpe Avenue and Wilthorpe Crescent in Barnsley. Picture: Google
The attack took place at the junction of Wilthorpe Avenue and Wilthorpe Crescent in Barnsley. Picture: Google
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Memran Nassiri, prosecuting, said: “As she walked past him, without warning, the defendant struck her hard to the right side of her face. She states that she felt a blow to her face and felt she was in a bad dream, unable to speak or move.”

A quick-thinking friend of the woman’s managed to catch her as she fell, and prevented her head from hitting the ground. 

She was knocked unconscious for a few minutes following the attack, the court heard. 

 

 

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“After witnessing the defendant punch his wife, the second complainant confronted him. 

“The defendant punched him three or four times, before running off,” said Mr Nassiri. 

The female complainant was left with a fractured right eye socket, a laceration above the eye, a black eye and bruising to her hands and face. 

Her husband suffered cuts and bruises in the attack. 

In a victim personal statement read to the court, the woman said she felt too afraid to go out and had been off work for a significant period of time after suffering her injuries. 

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Allsopp, of Chatsworth Road, Barnsley pleaded guilty to charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm and common assault at an earlier hearing. 

 

 

Defending, Becky Jane, told the court that while Allsopp has an extensive criminal record, these were his first violent offences. 

“His time in prison [on remand] has been very positive...he is employed in the prison canteen and has been accessing education by way of his Level 2 maths qualification,” said Ms Jane. 

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She asked Judge Rachael Harrison to consider passing a suspended sentence, after taking his mitigating factors and the three months he has spent on remand into account. 

Judge Harrison rejected Ms Jane’s calls and jailed Allsopp for 25 months. 

She also granted a restraining order, preventing Allsopp from contacting either of the complainants for a period of five years. 

- South Yorkshire Police have been asked to provide a custody image of Allsopp