Man's shocking drink-fuelled attack on his partner - he marched her through the streets of Scarborough, court told

A woman was kicked in the face by her partner who marched her through the streets of Scarborough in shocking scenes captured on CCTV.
Castle Road, Scarborough. Picture: GoogleCastle Road, Scarborough. Picture: Google
Castle Road, Scarborough. Picture: Google

Richard Horncastle, 31, forced her to the ground and stamped on her head, causing a “nasty” cut to her lip.

The victim tried to walk away, but Horncastle followed her and grabbed her by the neck and arm in “restraint style”, marching her down the street as she begged him to stop, York Crown Court heard.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

CCTV footage showed Horncastle - who was unsteady on his feet and clearly the worse for wear - berating, threatening and subjecting his terrified girlfriend to a series of attacks as they walked home from the pub.

Prosecutor Jeremy Barton said that at one stage, the victim was pinned to a wall when Horncastle pressed his elbow to her neck. She eventually managed to break away and walk home, with blood dripping from her mouth.

Taxi driver Horncastle, of Leighton Close, Scarborough, was arrested after police were alerted to the incident at about 1.50am.

He was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and appeared for sentence on Monday after admitting the offence.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Barton said Horncastle told police he was “very drunk” at the time of the incident on October 20 and had no recollection of it.

“He said he had been in a pub in Castle Road since about 5.15pm and had about 10 drinks,” added the barrister.

“He was kicking (the victim) in the face, grabbing her in restraint style and grabbing her again later down the road, pressing his arm on to her neck. He admitted she was scared and defenceless and had run away.”

Horncastle had a criminal record including a conviction for a previous drink-fuelled attack on his partner in January 2015.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The couple’s five-year relationship was described as “volatile” and Horncastle was now getting help from an alcohol-support group to deal with his binge-drinking.

They had been living apart since the incident, but Horncastle planned to return to the family home, although he admitted that his partner “may not be able to forgive him for this incident”.

Horncastle’s solicitor advocate David Camidge said his client was “frankly appalled” when he saw footage of the incident. Horncastle was a good father who was only lightly convicted.

Recorder Simon Myerson QC described the attacks as “disgraceful” and told Myerson: “The assault was repeated and sustained. You pulled her to the ground and whilst (the victim) was on the ground, you stomped on her face, causing the nasty injury to her lip.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“She was on the floor for a sustained period of time. There was blood on the floor. She was distressed (and) you could be heard making threats.”

Horncastle was given a 12-month prison sentence, but this was suspended for two years because he was starting to change his ways.

Horncastle was also ordered to carry out 100 hours’ unpaid work and pay £220 costs.

In addition, Mr Myerson QC ordered him to engage in a ‘building-better relationships’ course and a 15-day rehabilitation programme “to deal with your alcohol issue”.