Lawford: Victim dumped at side of B1035 after group attack

Danny Blueyes, 43, was witnessed emerging from his Walton home carrying a sledgehammer before getting into the back of a red van on January 2 last year.

Chelmsford Crown Court was told neighbours heard screams coming from the van, which also carried co-defendant 46-year-old Paul Joseph.

The court heard Blueyes was enlisted to assist in a revenge attack against a man over an allegation of theft.

The victim told police he had been staying at a property in Clacton when the home was burgled – a matter which he reported to the police.

He said he was later walking home from Clacton town centre when he was grabbed by Joseph and another unidentified male and pulled inside a nearby property.

Marc Brown, prosecuting, said: “Once inside the property, whilst in the hallway, [the victim] was attacked.

“Paul Joseph told [the victim] he was going to kill him because three of his model trucks had gone missing.

“[The victim] protested his innocence and explained the police had been called about it, but it was indicated by Mr Joseph that he was disbelieved and he would not survive what was about to happen.

“He was then pulled into the back of a red van and was assaulted with metal poles.

“The poles were of a type used for weightlifting.

“He describes being struck over the head and body with them and struck repeatedly. After about half an hour in the back of the van, [the victim] recalls the van being driven somewhere.”

The court was told the van was driven to the home of Blueyes, where the defendant joined the group in continuing the assault.

Danny Blueyes

Blueyes later told police the van was driven to an industrial estate, where the assault continued, before he was dropped back at his home.

Judge Christopher Morgan accepted Blueyes was therefore not present when the victim was dumped at the side of the road, adding: “That dumping showed very little regard for the basic needs of another human being who had been badly injured.”

The victim was found in a layby on the B1035 near Lawford by a passing care worker, who was driving home with his girlfriend.

The badly-beaten victim told the Good Samaritan he had been attacked with metal poles over a period of around an hour and a half by four men.

The court heard Blueyes bragged to a neighbour: “I beat this guy up really badly with a sledgehammer, I hit his ribs and tried to mangle his legs up.

“There was blood everywhere.”

The victim suffered fractures to his ribs, face and leg, spent 21 days in hospital and now suffers from permanent disability.

Blueyes, of Second Avenue, Walton, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent. The prosecution offered no evidence on a count of attempted murder, while a count of kidnap was left to lie on the file.

The court was told both Joseph, of Austin Avenue, Jaywick, and co-accused Joseph Bennett, 55, of Yarmouth Road, Norwich, died before their cases could be heard.

Benjamin Summers, mitigating, said Blueyes was not the “main protagonist” of the attack and said “those who started it” had since died.

The court heard Blueyes has been diagnosed with PTSD, schizophrenia and an anti-social personality disorder.

READ MORE: 

• 'Post Office scandal cost me £110k, my home, and my family'
• 'It's very sad' - Reaction after woman tragically dies in Castle Park

Judge Morgan said: “What must have been plain to you, when the call came from Mr Joseph, was that you were to participate in a beating.

“You were plainly seen leaving your home address clutching what is described as sledgehammer and plainly there were iron bars which were part of weightlifting equipment.

“You entered a van and in my judgement it makes very little difference as to whether you wielded the sledgehammer or an iron bar, or indeed having handed over the weapons you then held the victim, who by that stage I am prepared to accept had been injured.

“If you held a man in that position you would have recognised that he was, firstly, injured, and secondly, that he must have been terrified once he had seen those implements brought into the back of the van.

“You holding him, there was no chance as far as I’m concerned he would have escaped or been able to protect himself in any way from the beating.

“The injuries he has sustained, particularly to his ribs, to his thumb and to his leg, are truly horrific.”

The judge added: “The incident as far as you were concerned ended once you had left the vehicle.

“You took the weapons back into your home and there is some evidence you were bragging shortly thereafter about what you had done.

“That bragging, it seems to me, is all part and parcel of your personality.”

Blueyes was judged to be a dangerous offender and sentenced to an extended sentence of 11 years, comprising seven years imprisonment and four years on licence.

-

For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our court and crime newsletter here.

Keep up to date with all the latest crime and court news with our dedicated Facebook page.