Sheffield thug jailed for subjecting stranger to terrifying unprovoked attack which knocked him unconscious

Defendant, Benjamin Hackford, and an unnamed male carried out the shocking assault in a petrol station forecourt, located on Birley Moor Road, Frecheville, on March 12 this year, Sheffield Crown Court, sitting remotely at Grimsby Crown Court, was told.

During a July 8 hearing, prosecuting barrister, Richardo Childs, described how in the moments leading up to the violence, the complainant and his girlfriend were walking through a nearby car park, on their way home.

Hackford, of Westview Lane, Totley, was also in the car park, parked up in a Nissan Qashqai, along with the second male and two women.

“As the complainant passed, he says for some reason, he was confronted by the second male, he was shouting various things,” Mr Childs said.

He added: “He [the second male] lunged towards the complainant. He thought he was going to be attacked, so he decided to run away. As he ran across the road, the defendant decided to chase him...into the petrol forecourt.”

Hackford, aged 32, and the second male then proceeded to attack the complainant.

Showing CCTV of the incident taken at the petrol station to the court, Mr Childs said: “You can see the point at which the complainant was knocked unconscious. The defendant was the one doing the punches; and the second male, who hasn’t been identified, was the one doing the kicking.”

In addition to being knocked unconscious, the complainant suffered a black eye and a cut to his forehead.

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Through a statement to the court, the complainant said he had been ‘feeling down since it happened’ and ‘his pride had been hurt’.

“This was an unprovoked attack, I’ve been feeling really down and have been struggling with the pain,” he said.

The complainant reported the incident to the police the following day, and also went back the petrol station, who were able to provide him with the CCTV that was subsequently used in court.

Police were able to link Hackford to the assault through his car, after determining he was the registered keeper, and he was arrested on May 25 this year.

Hackford, who has a number of previous convictions for offences including battery and breaching a restraining order, was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, assault occasioning actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing.

Tim Gaubert, defending, told the court that Hackford’s involvement in the attack was limited to punching, but Judge Sophie McKone said she took the view that it was a ‘joint attack’ and the use of a foot in that context should be regarded as a weapon.

Mr Gaubert added: “In relation to harm, it’s of course concerning the fact he was knocked unconscious. However, perhaps more by luck than judgement, the injuries were not the most serious or enduring.”

“He’s someone who has shown himself to be someone who is capable of staying out of trouble, and there was a gap in his offending between 2012 and 2019,” Mr Gaubert said.

Judge McKone jailed Hackford for 16 months and told him: “Although you may not have kicked the complainant yourself, this was a joint attack when kicking on the floor occurred. You were the leader of this group in the sense that you were the one that pulled him to the floor and began the assault.”