A violent thug accused a pensioner of histrionics after breaking her eye socket, ribs and collar bone over an argument about a garden fence and an ivy bush.
Brian Saunders, 52, attacked his parents’ neighbour Wendy Douglas, 71, at her home on Newcastle’s Kingston Park estate on June 12, 2021, after they argued over her trimming an ivy bush she claimed was in her garden.
Mrs Douglas, who was 68 at the time, said her neighbour came out and began shouting at her before going back inside, he then returned and demanded the cuttings from the plant.
When Saunders later arrived at his parents’ house, he had a conversation with Mrs Douglas about putting up a new fence which resulted in him assaulting her, fracturing her eye socket and breaking her collar bone and ribs
During evidence, Saunders claimed Mrs Douglas sustained the injuries by tripping over a dog whilst trying to get up from a sun lounger before falling into a plant pot and suffering what appeared to be a fit.
Saunders, of Melness Road, Hazlerigg, said he had tried to help the pensioner back up and she was screeching ‘absolute histrionics’ to get people’s attention.
Pathologist Dr Peter Cooper told the jury the victim suffered two types of bleeding to the eye, one on the surface and the other deep in the chamber of the eye which he would normally associate with a punch rather than a fall.
In January, the jury found Saunders guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and he was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. He was found not guilty of a theft charge relating to an accusation that he stole Mrs Douglas’ phone during the attack.
Robin Patton, prosecuting, told the court during sentencing that Saunders subjected the victim to a ‘vicious and sustained attack’ and then ‘walked off, leaving her badly injured and covered in blood’.
Judge Sarah Mallett also imposed a restraining order that prohibits Saunders from communicating with Mrs Douglas directly or indirectly for 10 years.
He is also prevented from attending the victim’s address for 10 years, although he is allowed to visit his parents’ address next door when he is released from prison.
Judge Mallett said: ‘You are 52 years of age and have no relevant offending history. You are to be sentenced for the extremely serious offence of grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
‘At about 12.30pm on June 12, 2021, following a dispute between your father and Wendy Douglas about plants growing on the border between the two gardens, you approached Wendy Douglas to discuss the matter. She did not want to engage in any discussion with you – and you saw red.
‘You ran at her and knocked her out of her chair with a punch. You knelt on her chest and, with both hands around her neck, you pinned her there and then punched her to the face again.
‘She said, ‘I have got you now,’ and then you continued to punch her and then shouted, ‘I’m sick of this,’ and told her to, ‘Get it sorted.’
‘There were neighbours who heard screaming.’
Judge Mallet continued: ‘[Wendy Douglas] said at the time she thought she was going to die from strangulation. She was a 68-year-old female on her own at home and was seated [at the time].’
Shortly after being jailed, he launched an appeal against his conviction but a judge at the Court of Appeal in London today refused the application, and Saunders’ conviction still stands.
Mrs Douglas has now shared pictures of the injuries she suffered and revealed the impact Saunders’ actions had on her.
Following his conviction she said: ‘It was horrendous. I was frightened. But it all happened so fast. It was over in seconds, but it didn’t seem like that. You should be safe in your home.’
After seeing her attacker locked up, Mrs Douglas, who worked as a shop assistant in Fenwick before she retired, spoke of her shock that the disagreement had turned to violence.
She said: ‘It was just an ivy hedge that was growing on our wood fence. It just started with a polite conversation. I just started asking. I didn’t expect anything to come of that. It was just a bit of a disagreement. Then we just stopped speaking because it was getting nowhere.
‘It was totally out of the blue. I have never spoken to him before. I thought it would be a bit of verbal. I would never have imagined it would turn to violence. I’m still friends with the neighbours from the first house I have ever lived in from the 70s. I have never had bad neighbours before.’
It is understood that Saunders has now been released from prison on licence after serving just over one year of his sentence.