Man jailed for stabbing dog walker with scissors

Joshua Kettle was jailed for five-and-a-half years, with a two-year extended licence

A "dangerous" man has been jailed for stabbing a female dog walker in the head with a pair of scissors in a Devon town.

At a trial in June, Exeter Crown Court heard passers-by tried to intervene in an argument Joshua Kettle, 29, was having with his brother in St Paul's Road in Newton Abbot on 5 February.

The court was told Kettle, previously of Sandringham Road, Newton Abbot, punched one man, leaving him with a broken tooth and bruising, before he then stabbed the woman in her temple with a pair of scissors, leaving a gash that needed five stitches.

On Wednesday, Kettle was jailed for five-and-a-half years by Recorder Ms Chloe Pawson-Pounds, with a two-year extended licence.

At the trial, Kettle denied but was found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, possession of a bladed article, affray and assaulting an emergency worker.

He admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and two other assaults on emergency workers.

The court heard Kettle had assaulted a police officer at a custody suite the next day after his arrest by spitting at them.

It also heard Kettle had a documented history of poor mental health.

'Escalation in seriousness'

Sentencing, Ms Chloe Pawson-Pounds said Kettle was a "dangerous offender".

She said: “You have a not insignificant record of violence and this marks an escalation in seriousness.

"You have assaulted individuals without provocation while using weapons, having armed yourself on three occasions.

“Your attitude towards your mental health and understanding of how it causes your offending behaviour is unrealistic and that is a cause for concern. Mercifully, you haven’t caused more serious injury so far.”

Miss Felicity Payne, defending, said Kettle, of no fixed abode during sentencing, had a history of mental health problems which reduced his culpability.

She said he had been released from a spell at Langdon Hospital in Dawlish shortly before these offences and had problems accessing medication.