Man used a metal crutch to attack woman after she rebuffed advances

HEAVY-DRINKING BULLY KNOCKED HER TO GROUND

- By MARK NAYLOR

A TERRIFIED and "defenceless" woman suffered very nasty bruises after a heavy-drinking bully knocked her to the floor, strangled her, repeatedly punched her and viciously hit her with a metal crutch "as hard as he could".

Bad-tempered alcoholic Dennis Hawley became “extremely aggressive” when the woman “rebuffed him” during a drinking session at his home. He had been downing a bottle of vodka and six cans of lager a day at the time, Hull Crown Court heard.

Hawley, 46, formerly of Benedict Road, but recently of Ashby Road, west Hull, admitted offences of intentional strangulation and assaulting the woman, causing actual bodily harm, on November 12, 2023. He pleaded guilty on the day of a scheduled trial.

Samantha Laws, prosecuting, said that Hawley was with the woman, described as a friend of a friend, during a social gathering, involving drinking, at his home.

He “tried to make a move on her” but she “rebuffed him” and she got up and moved to sit on a sofa.

Hawley’s mood “instantly changed” and he became “extremely aggressive” and, at first, verbally nasty. He later turned violent and knocked the woman to the floor, grabbed her by her throat and strangled her, causing her to struggle to breathe.