Salford woman with dementia angry over attacker's sentence

Joy Watson suffered a fractured eye socket required surgery

A woman with dementia who was punched after asking a man to stop kicking his dog said she felt "let down" her attacker received a suspended sentence.

Joy Watson was wearing a badge that said "I have Alzheimer's, please be patient" when she was assaulted in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, in 2019.

The 63-year-old, from Salford, suffered a fractured eye socket in the attack.

Alan Bairstow, 58, of Wakefield, denied assault but was found guilty at Hull Crown Court.

He was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months.

The attack was described by police as "extremely nasty"

Bairstow, of The Avenue, was also ordered to pay his victim £1,200 in compensation.

Mrs Watson, from Eccles, was visiting Bridlington when she saw confronted Bairstow after seeing him kicking and mistreating his dog at a roadside cafe.

"He gave me one massive hit - a huge thump to which I fell and hit my back on the concrete," she said.

"It was so vicious. He left me without knowing whether I was alive or not."

She suffered a fractured eye socket requiring surgery.

'Flabbergasted'

Det Con Steve Powell, of Humberside Police said after Bairstow's conviction it was an "extremely nasty" incident in which a "vulnerable lady concerned for the welfare of a dog assaulted for trying to be a good citizen".

Mrs Watson, ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society told BBC North West Tonight she was "flabbergasted" at Bairstow's "lenient" sentence.

"I feel let down and angry," she said.

Mrs Watson said she was "determined" to go to court to face the attacker.

"I wanted him to know how badly the attack affected me - not just physically but psychologically."

She said she also wanted to make a stand for other people with dementia "that we can have a voice".

Despite her ordeal she said she would still challenge someone mistreating an animal.

"I'd do the same thing again," she said.

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