Flint,North Wales - Victim speaks out after brutal attack in street

Published date: 01 December 2015 | 

Published by: Andrew Cain
Read more articles by Andrew Cain

THE VICTIM of a brutal assault says his attacker got off lightly after he received a suspended sentence.

Anthony Burrows, 47, from Flint, was attacked in July last year when he was cycling on Church Street in the town.

 

His attacker, Michael Anthony Hill, of King Edward Street in Shotton, was sentenced at Mold Crown Court on Thursday and given a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and placed under electronic curfew.

 

Mr Burrows, however, said he feels that this sentence does not reflect the severity of the incident.

 

The court heard how Mr Burrows was cycling in Church Street last year when a woman complained that he was on the pavement. 

 

The woman’s partner, Hill, 31, then attacked Mr Burrows, punching him and causing him to fall and hit his head on railings. 

 

He was then struck four more times while he was on the ground.

 

Judge Geraint Walters, presiding, told Hill: “Decent, civilised 31-year-olds do not behave like that in public places.”

 

Speaking about the sentencing, Mr Burrows said he would have felt better if the punishment had been more severe.

 

Mr Burrows, an industrial cleaner for Norec Hargreaves at Connah’s Quay power station, said the effect last year’s attack had on his life has been devastating. 

 

He said: “I’ve had to take time off work for the past three months as the incident has given me headaches and anxiety, so it has become a health and safety issue.

 

“Work have been okay with me doing this but I’m only on statutory sick pay so it has caused me some real financial difficulties

 

“I’ve lost out on a lot of money. I want to get back to work but I just can’t.”

Mr Burrows added he found it difficult to go out on his own following last year’s attack as it made him extremely anxious.

 

“I wake up in the morning with severe headaches and whenever I go out, I get anxiety attacks and feel like I’m constantly looking over my shoulder,” he said.

 

“It has seriously affected everything about my lifestyle.”

 

The court heard how Hill was caught after he had bragged about the incident on social media, which led to police tracking him down and arresting him. 

 

Mr Burrows said he was shocked when the post had been brought to his attention and said it had “added insult to injury”. 

 

“It was completely out of the blue,” he said. “It was only a fluke that we managed to find out who he was and what he looked like.”

 

Mr Burrows’ parents John, 72, and Shirley, 68, also said the sentence should have been more severe, but said they knew the outcome could have been much more serious for their son.