Noise-row man, 52, battered neighbour with spade

Victim Debra Bland, a 52-year-old grandmother, had gone to peg out her washing and was holding a crutch following a recent knee operation when Paul Ward flew at her.

Ward, 52, flipped when he received a letter from the Housing Association telling him they would monitor his noise pollution following complaints from Miss Bland, who lived beneath him in a semi-detached house divided into two flats, a court heard.

She had moved into the area in March last year and had initially got on well with Ward before arguments started over the noise coming from Ward's flat, culminating in the violent assault on April 10 this year.

Tom Storey, prosecuting, told Bradford Crown Court yesterday that Ward marched over to Miss Bland with the letter, accused her of lying and said: "You asked for this, you f***ing bitch", before picking up a spade and beating her.

Mr Storey said: "She describes him as swinging the spade at her with both hands. She put her arms up to protect her head."

She screamed as Ward struck her repeatedly with the spade, even while she was on the ground.

Ward only stopped the attack in the communal garden at their homes in Cononley, Skipton, when neighbour Robert Reape, who heard the screams, intervened.

He saw Ward bashing Miss Bland four or five times and thought he was going to kill her before Ward put the spade down and calmly walked away, Mr Storey told the court.

The bleeding victim was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary where she received treatment for a fractured right arm and index finger and multiple cuts and bruises.

In a victim impact statement, Miss Bland, who lives alone, said she had suffered nightmares since the attack, no longer feels safe in her own home and can no longer drive or look after her own dog.

Ward, who was jailed for 40 months, had shown no remorse for the sustained attack. He said the complainant had been "winding him up" by making up stories about his noise and had been banging on his mother's door to look for him.

Mr Storey told the court: "He said he had no sympathy for the complainant. He said, 'If she is going to be picking on my mother like that she does deserves it as far as I'm concerned.'"

Miss Bland fell out with Ward soon after moving in and made a serious of complaints about Ward regarding the noise coming from his upstairs flat.

In December last year Miss Bland and her daughter were arrested following an incident which left Ward with an injury to his eye.

But the court heard no further action was taken against Miss Bland and her daughter was merely cautioned.

Ward, who had pleaded guilty to wounding with intent at a previous hearing, listened emotionlessly as Mr Storey read out his string of previous convictions for assault – including an attack on a police officer.

Robin Frieze, mitigating, handed the judge letters from residents, as well as a petition signed by 77 villagers in support of long-term resident Ward, describing him as "caring".

He said: "The pre-sentence report is loaded with references to his lack of remorse.

"The easiest thing in the world would have been for him to say he was sorry. He hasn't done that. He has at least been consistent and honest about that."

Sentencing Ward to 40 months in prison, Recorder Ray Singh said he was moved by the letters from locals, but he said there had been a number of aggravating factors including Ward's previous convictions and the fact the attack had been unprovoked.

He said: "Whatever happened in the past was in the past

and cannot amount to provocation.''

Of the attack he added: ''Only when a neighbour came out and alerted you to what you were doing did you come to your senses and you calmly replaced the spade in the shed.''