Sheffield Crown Court: Thug launched 'unprovoked' and 'ferocious' street attack on dog-walker in Rotherham

A thug has been put behind bars after he seriously assaulted a dog-walker in the street during an unprovoked and ‘ferocious’ attack.
By Jon Cooper
Published 28th Oct 2021, 14:20 BST
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Sheffield Crown Court heard on October 28 how Andrew Houghton, aged 30, had been bothering an ex-partner on Bawtry Road, Wickersley, Rotherham, before he turned on a man walking his dog and unleashed a vicious assault.

Ian Goldsack, prosecuting, said the dog-walker had tried to avoid the defendant but Houghton said something and attacked him and the next thing he knew was waking up covered in blood.

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Pictured is Andrew Houghton, aged 30, of HMP Lindholme, Doncaster, who has been jailed after he admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent following a street attack on a defenceless dog-walkerPictured is Andrew Houghton, aged 30, of HMP Lindholme, Doncaster, who has been jailed after he admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent following a street attack on a defenceless dog-walker
Pictured is Andrew Houghton, aged 30, of HMP Lindholme, Doncaster, who has been jailed after he admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent following a street attack on a defenceless dog-walker
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Houghton’s former partner stated Houghton had been aggressive and had been accusing her of sleeping with others before he punched the dog-walker to the ground and kicked him.

Mr Goldsack said: “She screamed for the defendant to stop and she described feeling sick at what she was witnessing and she thought the attack was so violent that if she tried to intervene she would get injured. She said she was petrified at what she had seen.”

The victim, aged in his 60s, suffered an ear injury and deterioration to an existing eye condition along with such crippling anxiety that he has not been able to keep his dog because he no longer feels safe out walking.

He stated: “I struggle to understand why this happened. It was over nothing and for nothing and this is what I struggle with. I worry this could happen again to me or to someone else.”

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Houghton, who has previous convictions and is currently serving a custodial sentence at HMP Lindholme, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent after the incident on December 22, 2018.

Judge Jeremy Richardson QC told Houghton: “There was a completely unprovoked attack upon him. At first you punched him to the face. This caused him to go to the ground.

"The attack continued. While he was on the ground, lying there utterly defenceles, you kicked him repeatedly. The episode lasted about one minute. It was a ferocious attack. The consequences for him have been extremely serious.”

Judge Richardson sentenced Houghton to three years and 297 days of custody to allow for and to combine with a previously imposed prison sentence from Nottingham Crown Court for other matters which now means the defendant is serving a ten-year custodial sentence.