Man jailed for 15 years for assaults in Burnley

Connor Watkinson (22), of Central Drive, Blackpool, was sentenced on Friday at Preston Crown Court, and was told he must serve at least 10 years of a 15-year sentence before being considered for release.

It follows incidents which took place in February and March this year.

The first took place at an address in Comrie Crescent on the evening of February 28th. The victim, a 21-year-old woman with whom Watkinson had been in a relationship, was subjected to a prolonged and vicious attack which included Watkinson binding her hands and feet, before punching and kicking her, cutting off her hair and using a knife to inflict scratch wounds.

The victim suffered a fractured neck, a broken nose and a broken jaw. She also lost two teeth and contracted emphysema as a result of trauma to her chest.

She eventually lost consciousness and awoke the following morning, when she alerted police.

The second and third assaults both occurred on March 2nd at an address in Smith Street, Burnley.

The victims, a man aged 27 and a woman aged 48, had been drinking at the address with Watkinson, when the attack began shortly after 12-30am.

The male victim had been asleep but woke up to Watkinson punching him repeatedly. The female victim tried to stop the attack but Watkinson turned on her, leaving her with cuts, bruises and a bite mark on her arm.

She left the address to get help and when emergency services arrived they found the male victim with a fractured nose, several loose teeth, swelling and bruising to his head, cuts to his mouth and a laceration to his shoulder.

Watkinson was arrested at the scene.

In court he pleaded guilty to two section 18 woundings and a section 47 assault.

Det. Insp. Vinny de Curtis, of Burnley Police, said: “Watkinson launched vicious attacks on three innocent people, leaving them with serious injuries and no doubt, some mental scars too. I hope they will be able to take some comfort from the significant sentence Watkinson has received, and it will help them move forward with their lives.

“Our thoughts remain with them as they recover from this terrible ordeal.

“I also hope Watkinson will use his time behind bars to reflect on the consequences of his actions.

“The officers involved in this investigation worked extremely hard and Watkinson’s sentence should send a message out that crimes of this nature will not be tolerated in Lancashire.”