A man punched his partner to the ground and kicked her in the face as she sat defenceless on the pavement during a trip to Tenby which had been designed to rekindle their relationship. After launching what a judge described as a "grotesquely brutal attack" Luke Spicer casually walked away from girlfriend and left her screaming on the floor.
The woman sought help from staff in a nearby hotel who called the police. Officers searched the seaside town for Spicer and when they found him he told them he had "snapped" before adding he had also "given her the boot".
Sian Cutter, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that Spicer and the woman began their relationship in the summer of 2021 and it was initially fine but as the months went by the defendant's drinking became an issue. The court heard during the course of the relationship Spicer became increasingly paranoid about his partner seeing other men – so much so that he began ringing her at random times wanting to know where she was and who she was with and demanding she send him videos to prove what she was saying was true.
The prosecutor said by February this year the woman had decided to end the relationship but Spicer begged her for a second chance and it was agreed the couple would go away together for a break in Pembrokeshire. The couple set off for Tenby on February 17 and the first day of their stay passed uneventfully. The following evening the couple went out for food and drinks and the court heard by the woman's own admissions both got drunk. That night as they walked back to their hotel an argument broke out and Spicer suddenly punched his girlfriend. The woman was knocked to the floor and as she sat on the pavement the defendant kicked her in the face. Read about the "jealous and paranoid" man who stabbed his partner in the breast with a kitchen knife here.
The 28-year-old defendant walked away and the victim sought help at a nearby hotel. Miss Cutter said the hotel staff called police and described the victim as being "hysterical". Officers were soon on the scene and found the woman's eye was swollen shut. Police went to look for the assailant and found him on the seafront. He told officers he had drunk four bottles of wine as well as a number of pints, and had "snapped". He later added: "I gave her the boot." The court heard that Spicer started crying when he was subsequently shown video footage of the assault captured on a doorbell camera and admitted he had anger and alcohol issues. Read about a man who grabbed his ex-partner by the throat and choked her before slamming her face against a pebble-dashed wall after she refused to give him a lift in her car.
Spicer, of Stourport Road, Kiddermister, Worcestershire, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH). He has three previous convictions for three offences including inflicting grievous bodily harm when he was a youth. This offence had seen him repeatedly punch a fellow school pupil leaving his victim with swelling on the brain. An ABH conviction was due to his part in a mass brawl, the court heard. At the time of the Tenby attack he was on a 12-month suspended sentence from Worcester Crown Court for dangerous driving following a police chase.
Jon Tarrant, for Spicer, said the defendant made absolutely no excuses for his behaviour on the night in question and was ashamed and remorseful. He said it was clear from the details of his past offending that there was an issue with anger and loss of control and the defendant "knowns he has the capability to 'snap'". The advocate said Spicer's parents would support him upon his release from the term of imprisonment he was facing and had travelled to Swansea to attend the sentencing hearing – though when they were told that footage of the assault was going to be played they had opted not to come into court and see the "abhorrent video".
Judge Paul Thomas QC told Spicer that when in drink he behaves in a "jealous, paranoid and controlling" manner, and he described the assault in Tenby as a "grotesquely brutal attack". The judge said as the sentence that was due was less than two years in length he was required to consider whether it could be suspended but after considering everything he had read and heard about Spicer he had come to the conclusion that there was no realistic prospect of rehabilitation.
With a one-third discount for his guilty plea Spicer was sentenced to six months in prison for the ABH and the judge activated six months of the previously-imposed suspended sentence to run consecutively making a total sentence of 12 months. Spicer will serve up to half the 12 months in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
You can sign up for our regular Crime & Punishment newsletter here, while this interactive tool allows you to check the latest crime statistics for your area:
