Man 'brutally' attacked women on his birthday
Northumbria PoliceA man who "brutally" subjected two women to a 15-minute long attack on his birthday has been jailed for six years and nine months.
Gary Burton, 38, rained kicks and punches on his then-partner and ex-girlfriend in the foyer of his Gateshead flat block after they had been drinking and taking drugs together, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
One of the women was found outside covered in blood and screaming, the court heard, with judge Robert Spragg saying the "vicious and sustained" attack involved "gratuitous violence".
Burton, who had previously been jailed for hacking a friend's arm open with a meat cleaver, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and attempted intentional wounding.
The prolonged attack at about 03:00 BST on 3 March was captured on CCTV, the judge said.
Throughout the "brutal" assault, Burton repeatedly knocked the women to the ground, punched and kicked them and stamped on one of their heads multiple times.
Whenever the women "tried to fight back or escape", Burton used "significant violence", Spragg said.
In his own account to the Probation Service, Burton said he had "just lot it" after he was accused of infidelity and derogatory comments were made about his family, leading him to throw "50-odd punches and 30-odd kicks", the court heard.
'Gaping wound'
The court heard Burton had 38 offences on his criminal record, including grievous bodily harm in 2019 for which he was jailed for six and half years.
He had been drunk when he attacked a friend with a meat cleaver, leaving the victim with a "gaping wound" down to the muscle.
Spragg said Burton had an "entrenched pattern of offending" related to the "use of substances, alcohol and extreme violence".
He said Burton also had a history of inflicting domestic abuse and had been assessed by the Probation Service as posing a "high risk of serious harm" to partners and the public.
Having been deemed a "dangerous" offender, Burton will also have to serve a further four years on extended licence upon his eventual release from prison.
