Family fled home of 35 years after machete attack

Jonas Barry and Lee Sweeting, both 19, were sentenced for affray and possessing an offensive weapon

A family moved out of their home of 35 years after being attacked by a gang of machete-wielding youths, a court has been told.

Jonas Barry and Lee Sweeting were both 17 when they and several others threatened to kill a family at their home in Walker, before smashing multiple windows, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Barry was detained for two years eight months and Sweeting for 18 months for affray and possessing an offensive weapon.

Barry had previously smacked a reveller on the head with a bottle on a night out in Newcastle and was part of a group that confronted a man in a McDonald's car park, culminating in the smashing of a £1,200 window, the court heard.

On 7 April this year, Barry and Sweeting, both 19, were part of a group of four or five masked men who approached a family of four's home in Walker at about 19:00 BST, prosecutor Jane Foley said.

The husband and son chased the men away with another friend, the court heard, but the masked group stopped near a shop and turned to confront them.

Several of the gang pulled out machetes and shouted threats they would kill them while one squirted a substance at the victims causing them to run home, the court was told.

The machete-wielding gang chased them and then smashed five windows at the house, with glass raining down on a five-year-old girl inside the home, Ms Foley said.

'In constant fear'

One of the victims recognised Barry and Sweeting when their masks slipped, the court heard.

In a statement read to the court, the wife of the family said they had to move away from the Newcastle area "out of fear".

She said it had been her family's home for 35 years and leaving had "broke [her] heart".

In the aftermath, pieces of glass were still being found throughout the house, including in her five-year-old granddaughter's toy box, the court heard.

The attack had left them feeling "traumatised" and "in constant fear", the court was told.

Barry, of Birch Terrace in Walker, had denied any wrongdoing but refused to attend his trial and was found guilty of affray and possession of an offensive weapon in his absence.

Sweeting, of Scrogg Road in Newcastle, pleaded guilty to both offences on the third day of the trial.

Barry was also sentenced for wounding a man, which he admitted.

At about 04:30 BST on 28 May 2023, Barry hit a man in the back of the head with a bottle outside a takeaway shop in central Newcastle, Ms Foley said.

The victim, who had been out socialising with friends, suffered a deep cut which injured an artery.

On 23 October 2024, Barry was with several others who confronted a man in the car park of McDonald's in Byker, the court heard.

Several of those involved, including the victim, armed themselves with metal bars and a brick was thrown which smashed one of the restaurant's windows causing £1,200 worth of damage, Ms Foley said.

Barry, who would go on to admit affray, was identified on CCTV as he was wearing the same clothes when he went to a police station earlier that day to comply with bail conditions.