Man attacked ex-tenant with claw hammer at West Moors pub

Grant Putt “completely lost control” and let the “red mist” descend after he saw the complainant in The Tap & Railway in West Moors.

Sentencing judge Recorder Hannah Willcocks KC said there had been previous disagreements and issues between Putt and the man, the facts of which were disputed.

However, she said this did not make it acceptable for him to arm himself with the claw hammer and carry out the assault.

The judge said she was “just persuaded” not to send the 43-year-old defendant to prison for the incident at the pub in Station Road on November 4 last year.

Prosecuting, Annabel Hazlitt said the complainant had rented a room at the defendant’s address earlier in 2022 but at the time of the incident he was no longer living there.

He was drinking in The Tap & Railway at around 3.15pm when Putt “came up behind and started whispering in his ear”. This included telling the complainant to go outside.

“Mr Putt swung the hammer at [the complainant] hitting him on the right arm, right shoulder and back,” Ms Hazlitt said.

The claw hammer used in the assault (Image: CPS)

Staff broke up the attack, with the landlord of the pub taking the hammer off of the defendant.

Ms Hazlitt played pub CCTV footage of the incident at the Bournemouth Crown Court hearing on Friday, July 28.

In a statement, the pub landlord said it was the worst incident he had seen in his time running the venue.

The defendant pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, affray and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Mitigating, Tom Evans said it was an “impulsive and spontaneous” assault.

He said Putt, of Corbin Avenue, Ferndown, saw the complainant in the establishment and went back to his vehicle to get the hammer before returning to the pub.

“When my client walked into the pub the red mist descended,” Mr Evans said. “He completely lost control and went back to get the hammer in a moment of madness.”

Mr Evans said the defendant had low mental health in May last year when his relationship at the time broke down. It was within this period that he became friends with the complainant.

The barrister said the incident in the pub had been a “significant turning point” in Putt’s life and he was now completely sober.

Mr Evans said there was sufficient reason to suspend the sentence because of a strong prospect of rehabilitation, the impact immediate custody would have on others and the significant personal mitigation.

“He is a good candidate for a suspended sentence of imprisonment,” Mr Evans said.

The defendant appeared in the dock at Bournemouth Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

Recorder Willcocks KC said: “I am just persuaded given all the circumstances that I can suspend it.”

She told the defendant he needed to prove to the court that he would not reoffend.

Recorder Willcocks KC sentenced Putt to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, with requirements to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and follow an overnight curfew for three months.

The defendant was also ordered to pay £500 compensation and he was made subject to a 12-month restraining order.