Man jailed after attacking woman over £10 then breaching bail

An armed drug addict who brutally attacked his friend over a £10 debt before returning to threaten the couple within an hour of being released on bail has been jailed for nearly three years.

Anthony Hart, 44, attacked a woman who had come to his caravan on Hendre Farm Drive to collect money he owed her. When she denied the debt, he showed her packs of Valium and bags of heroin, saying that’s where his money had gone.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that as the victim bent down to pick up tobacco outside, Hart emerged from his caravan holding a screwdriver and Stanley knife and kicked her in the head. He then grabbed her by the throat and attempted to stab her multiple times in the stomach with the screwdriver before stamping on her repeatedly.

When the victim’s partner intervened and tackled Hart to the floor, the defendant swung the knife towards him, causing a cut to his hand. The woman was left unconscious and had to be carried home.

Hart was arrested and released on bail shortly before 4pm the following day. Just over 30 minutes later, he approached the couple outside their home armed with a hammer and screwdriver, saying: “I’ll be slashing you and this hammer will be going through your head.”

The terrified couple retreated inside and called police whilst hearing hammering on their door.

The victim told the court: “None of this was worth £10. I don’t feel safe in the house anymore and I want to move from the area.”

Hart pleaded guilty to two offences of affray. The court heard he had 59 previous convictions for 222 offences, though his defence barrister Peter Donnison said none had been for violence, describing Hart’s record as “one of a drug user” who has “battled throughout his life with drugs and alcohol”.

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke sentenced Hart to two years and 11 months imprisonment and made him subject to a 10-year restraining order.