Northumberland man receives suspended sentence for brutal attack on fiancée

NORTHUMBERLAND MAN RECEIVES SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR BRUTAL ATTACK ON FIANCÉE

A man who attacked his fiancée, who is confined to a wheelchair, was granted a conditional discharge yesterday after they got married.

The assault took place on August 25, as presented to Teesside Crown Court, when neighbors responded to sounds of violence emanating from the home of Sheila Nyburg and her partner, Angus McLean.

Nyburg testified that McLean, aged 56, who was intoxicated, forced her arm behind her back and struck her head against a microwave.

She managed to stay immobilized with a fractured hip and asked him to leave.

When she attempted to contact the police, he took her phone, threw it against the wall, tipped her out of her wheelchair, and dragged her along the floor by her wrists.

It was reported that he pressed on her nose and mouth while she lay helpless on her back, preventing her from breathing.

Prosecutor Adrian Strong noted that McLean kicked her three times in her injured leg, though the kicks were described as light and delivered with soft footwear.

Fortunately, neighbors heard the commotion, intervened, and called authorities.

Joan Clemitson, in mitigation, mentioned that the couple married three months later and that McLean was her primary carer.

Judge David Bryant condemned McLean’s conduct as a disgraceful assault that would usually merit imprisonment.

McLean, formerly of Randolf Street, Coundon Grange, County Durham, and now living at Brook Court, Bedlington, Northumberland, pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm.

He was sentenced to a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, alongside a supervision order.