A 'DEEPLY violent' west Cumbrian man has been jailed for what a judge described as two 'brutal attacks' on his ex-girlfriend and her adult son.

Nyle Tomlinson, 28, who has a history of violence, carried out the first attack outside the woman's home at Grasmere Terrace in Maryport after his partner's son confronted him while armed with a knuckle duster, a court heard.

After disarming the man, Tomlinson used the weapon to repeatedly strike the victim, leaving him with serious head and facial wounds, it was said.

The defendant, who admitted using 'excessive self-defence', was on bail awaiting sentence for that violence when he carried out the second attack, assaulting the mother of his first victim.

In the second incident, again in Grasmere Terrace, Tomlinson dragged the woman along the ground and then up a concrete step, making her lose consciousness, Carlisle Crown Court heard. Tomlinson admitted two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Prosecutor Betsy Hindle outlined the offending.

The victim of the first attack had argued with the defendant about how he was treating his mother, she said.

On the morning of October 4, the two men confronted each other in the front garden at Grasmere Terrace.

Prosecutors did not dispute Tomlinson’s claim that it was the other man who brought a knuckle duster to the scene. During the struggle, Tomlinson – having grabbed the knuckle duster – used it against the other man, the court heard.

“It is not in dispute that [the victim] suffered multiple wounds to his face, head and arm,” said Miss Hindle.

“In addition, his coat was sliced open at the hood, back and arm. Doctors later treated the man for a 30mm cut below his right eyebrow and puncture wounds to the back of his head, as well as grazes.

In a statement, Tomlinson said: “Initially I was afraid for my own safety but I accept that my actions went beyond what could be considered lawful self-defence.”

Five weeks later, as he awaited sentence for that offence, Tomlinson’s partner told him to move out though she had allowed him to keep using her bank card. 

“When he didn’t return [the card], she phoned him and he reacted angrily,” said Miss Hindle. “He came back to her house and kicked her front door, shouting her name. She ran out into the back garden and hid but he soon found her.

“He threw a can at her, dragged her along the ground by the arm, and then up the steps.”

The woman was left with grazing and banged her head on the concrete step. Miss Hindle said: “She describes losing consciousness before he punched her to her head and body before stopping as she pleaded with him to stop…

“She sought help from a passing driver, who effectively hid [the victim] in her car and smuggled her into her house up the street as the defendant searched for her. Once she was inside an ambulance was called.”

The court heard that Tomlinson, of Darcy Street, Workington, had several previous offences on his record, including another wounding, an actual bodily harm assault.

Anthony Parkinson, defending, said it was recognised that the defendant’s drug problem and his mental health were the cause of his offending. “It’s a sorry saga of drug misuse, loss of control and violence,” said the barrister.

Before one of the assaults, Tomlinson had used crack cocaine and as a result had not slept for two or three days. He had misused drugs from an early age and developed what appeared to be borderline personality disorder, the court was told.

Judge Guy Mathieson told the defendant: “You have a history of violent offending of a very serious nature. I have to sentence you again for two further brutal assaults.”

The victim of the first attack had been left with permanent facial scarring , though it was accepted that the victim instigated that confrontation and Tomlinson had used the man’s own weapon against him.

The violence in the second assault – against a vulnerable victim – was extreme, said the judge.

He said: “You claim that the assault was the result of drunk and drugs and a three-day bender and you have no memory of the actual attack.

“I don’t believe that Mr Tomlinson; that is a coward’s excuse to try to avoid responsibility for what you did.” A letter written to the court by the defendant may represent a start in his willingness to accept responsibility, said the judge.

But the judge noted that Tomlinson had done nothing to address his issues, finding that the defendant poses a risk of serious harm to the public.

As well as imposing four and a half years jail term – 18 months for the first attack and three years for the second - Judge Mathieson imposed a two-year extended licence period for the assault on the woman, meaning the defendant will remain at risk of recall to prison throughout that extended period.

He also imposed an indefinite restraining order that bans any contact with the male victim of the first wounding offence. The judge added: “You have proved yourself to be a deeply violent and unpleasant young man.”