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Wirral man who attacked burglar in street jailed for two years.

A MAN who chased a suspected burglar on to the street and launched a ferocious attack was jailed for two years.

Ian Holden, 31, punched, kicked and stamped on Mark Pointon, a local street drinker he had spotted trying to enter his Birkenhead home.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how Holden, who was on licence from prison at the time, had to be pulled from the suspect by members of the public.

Mr Pointon was left with a collapsed lung after the attack and required immediate medical treatment.

Judge Thomas Teague QC said: “It is really rather remarkable his injuries were not more serious because you could have killed him.”

The court was told that Holden, of Borough Road, Birkenhead, had complained to the police on numerous occasions that he was being “plagued” by anti-social behaviour.

But instead of phoning police when he saw Mr Pointon using a concrete slab to break into his home last November, he chased his victim on to the street.

Judge Teague said that while Holden was within his rights to detain the burglar, he was wrong to lash out to such an extent.

He said: “You repeatedly punched and kicked him and stamped on him, launching kicks at his head and body.

“The injury was a serious one, even in the context of grievous bodily harm. This was a sustained assault where you used your shod foot effectively as a weapon and that certainly did the damage.”

Jailing Holden, who has 97 criminal convictions but none for assault, the judge conceded that Mr Pointon provoked the attack.

He said: “The court cannot overlook the circumstances that directly led to this assault, in particular the fact that you had just caught the person who you assaulted breaking into your home.”

But the judge added: “You can’t take the law into your own hands in this way, no matter what the provocation.”

John Weate, defending, said of Holden: “Perhaps because he hadn’t any sleep, perhaps because he stayed awake for a number of nights as a consequence of what was happening to him and his property, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Source

Defend your property by all means, but in reason. Sounds like a violent bully given his number of previous convictions. Most "street drinkers" I've seen aren't exactly tough guys. Once they can't or won't punch back then stop otherwise you are a pr-ck, and a violent one at that.

My thought too. 97 convictions at age 31. That's what you call karma.

Guys it says none of those are for violence.

What a coward! Detain the guy by all means, give him a slap etc but to repeatedly kick and stamp on someone is just sickening.

fook the pair of them.

97 convictions!

31 years old?

If e started at 10yrs then thats like near 5 a year.wtf does he do when hes not being a Grrr?