Kenneth Stilgoe jailed for Carlisle bingo hall attack

Kenneth Stilgoe was jailed for three years and three months

An 80-year-old woman said she thought she was going to die when she was randomly attacked by a man while playing bingo.

The woman said she would never play the game she loved again after being punched twice in the head by Kenneth Stilgoe, 33, at a Carlisle bingo hall.

Stilgoe was out celebrating overturning a 10-year jail term for another attack, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

He was jailed for three years and three months after admitting assault.

Father-of-four Stilgoe, of Newtown Road, Carlisle, had been drinking with relatives after being released from prison on bail.

He was out awaiting a retrial after he successfully appealed against a conviction imposed for a 2016 Christmas Day street attack in Cockermouth.

Stilgoe first repeatedly punched a man outside Buzz Bingo on the evening of 14 March.

'I will never play again'

He then prised the complex's doors open and ran to the bingo room, the court heard, clambering over tables and chairs before approaching the woman, who had her back to him as she played.

Prosecutor Jon Close said: "The defendant punched [her] to the back of the head, forcing her to the table. He grabbed her, pulled her toward him and punched her again."

In a statement read to the court, she said: "I have never known pain like it. I thought I was going to die.

"I will never heal from this. I just want my normal little life back. One thing I know for certain is that I will never play again."

'Appalling violence'

Stilgoe admitted two actual bodily harm assaults on the man and woman.

He was described by his barrister as "overwhelmingly remorseful", and it was said that drink "had a dramatic effect on him".

In relation to the 2016 incident, Stilgoe also admitted causing a man grievous bodily harm by playing a limited role in the violence.

Recorder Andrew Nuttall called the bingo attacks "incomprehensible", adding: "These were two acts of appalling violence."