A dad told how he was "left for dead" in his garden after being knocked unconscious by his neighbours.
Anthony Wright was taken to Southport Hospital covered in blood after the attack at his home on Liverpool Road in Burscough. The 59-year-old said he had been cleaning out his car on the driveway when his neighbours, Stephen and Carolyn Yates, started shouting abuse at him.
Anthony said the attack unfolded around the back of the house, where he was hit around the head with a table leg and knocked unconscious. Stephen and Carolyn Yates were arrested after the attack on 16 August, 2020, and subsequently charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH).
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The married couple appeared before Preston Crown Court last Monday, June 5, where they pleaded guilty to ABH. Anthony told the ECHO: "I was cleaning my car out on the driveway, they came up the driveway next door to us.
"My dog was barking at his dog and his dog was barking at mine. I put [the dog] away and they started going on about different things and started calling me names."
After making their way around the back of the house, Anthony said his neighbours started kicking the fence that leads to his back garden. He said: "That's why I went around the back, I thought they were going to break the fence.
"I just wanted to calm them down. I just opened the gate and that was it then, I didn't have chance to do anything.
"He was punching me in the side of my face as soon as I opened the gate and she hit me with this piece of wood. She had a table leg and she hit me across the knee and the face."
Anthony said: "I fell over when she hit my knees. Then he jumped on top of me until I was knocked unconscious. She must have gone and got this piece of wood from somewhere on her way back around from the front of the house.
"I didn't hit either of them. It was so fast. They were in like a frantic rage."
Anthony said his wife Teresa and daughter Savanna, who was just 15 at the time, were sat in the garden when they witnessed what happened and stepped in to help. Teresa, 58, said the man "continued to punch [Anthony] when he was on the floor and left him for dead."
Anthony said: "My wife and daughter actually ripped his t-shirt dragging him off me. They actually dragged them off me and then [the neighbours] basically walked inside like nothing had happened."
Anthony suffered serious injuries to his face after the attack and tore the cartilage in his knee. He has since been given a hearing aid due to his facial injuries and has a permanently damaged knee.
The 59-year-old was off work for five months after the attack and the family have since decided to move house. Stephen Yates and Carolyn Yates pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Preston Crown Court on Monday, June 5.
The ECHO understands the case was delayed due to a backlog caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which was taken into account when imposing sentencing.
Caroline Yates was ordered to pay a fine of £440, while Stephen Yates was fined £495 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £125. If the fines are not paid within 28 days, the couple could face imprisonment.
Anthony said: "I'm just glad they both [pleaded] guilty. They'll probably think twice next time to do it to someone else."
Speaking of the sentencing, Anthony said: "I just thought it was a bit lenient. I think because they pleaded guilty and it didn't go to trial the judge has probably rewarded them."
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