Fightin’ Words?

Attackers Keith Bell and Dale Walt left Peter Heron unconscious after a row with his niece about Walt’s dog.

The pair turned up at Mr Heron’s home in Wallsend, North Tyneside, and launched their attack which included lashing him with the dog chain.

Well, that’s likely to see them behind bars, then? Well….no.

However, a judge spared the pair immediate prison sentences after hearing how they had no previous convictions for violence and had been provoked by Mr Heron allegedly threatening to slit the dog’s throat.

So, despite having no previous convictions for violence, they proved pretty good at it, didn’t they? For beginners, I mean?

And clearly, if someone threatens to do something, you’re entitled to tool up, rock up to their house mob-handed and beat the living daylights out of them, with a free pass from the justice system?

Good to know…

Newcastle Crown Court heard how the victim’s niece had previously been in a relationship with Bell. On the night of the incident the dog, owned by Walt but which Bell had also looked after, was at Mr Heron’s home.

During the evening of September 3 last year there were phone calls between Mr Heron’s niece and Bell about the dog being returned to Bell. The court heard the niece told Bell Mr Heron would attack the dog if it didn’t stop barking.

Bell and Walt then hatched a plan to go round to the house on Willington Terrace, Wallsend, and attack Mr Heron.

Not a plan to ‘go round to the house and take back possession of the dog’, you’ll note. Nor a plan to ‘call the authorities’…

Paul Cross, for Bell, said: “There was some provocation as it is the defence case that the man who was assaulted unfortunately said he was going to slit the dog’s throat if it didn’t stop barking.

“That’s what triggered this offence.”

Really? So ‘some provocation’ is all that’s needed for armed vigilantism?

And you’ll get a pass from the court if you’ve never done it before (or maybe more accurately, never been caught doing it before)?

Again, good to know.