Farmworker jailed for brutal attack on stranger in Carmarthen

A farmworker who launched an unprovoked assault on a stranger while threatening “I work with 1,400kg bulls and you don’t want to mess with me – this is going to hurt” has been jailed for 22 months.

Liam Mann, 35, turned up at a house in Pentremeurig Road, Carmarthen on May 3 this year where he began shouting for a woman with whom he had previously had a sexual relationship.

When a man came downstairs and sat on the sofa putting his shoes on, Mann launched a vicious attack on the stranger – pushing him to the floor before getting on top of him and repeatedly punching him to the face.

Swansea Crown Court heard that attempts were made to get Mann off the man, but he wrapped his arm around the victim’s neck and shouted his chilling threat about working with bulls.

The defendant then kicked his victim three times in the face while wearing a pair of work boots. During the assault, the strap of the victim’s Garmin sports watch was broken.

The injured man was taken to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen suffering with bruising and swelling to the face, head and scalp.

In a statement read to court, the victim said he was a farmer in a large community and had always been an outgoing person, but since the assault had been “isolating” from other people and was more withdrawn. He said he was suffering with flashbacks, night terrors, and paranoia and was getting help online for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mann, of Bridge Street, St Clears, Carmarthenshire, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intentional strangulation, and criminal damage. He has three previous convictions for six offences including sexual assault, exposure, and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

Defence barrister Caitlin Brazel said that while her client told her he had been struggling with his mental health, that was no excuse for his behaviour and “he would do anything to go back and change what unfolded”. She said the assault had been out of character and Mann had no previous convictions for violence.

Judge Catherine Richards said Mann had launched an “unprovoked and persistent” assault on his victim. She said she had concerns about whether there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation given the defendant had twice been recalled to prison when on licence in the community, and that he accepted struggling to control his temper when in drink.

With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas, Mann was sentenced to 22 months in prison. He will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant was made subject to a restraining order banning him from contacting his victim.