Yeovil man Leon Green jailed for axe attack in house

Green attacked his victim after he began "clowning around' in his own home

A man who attacked a drinking partner with an axe has been jailed.

Leon Green, 34, of Perrythorne Park, Yeovil, had been drinking in a pub in Chard with Joseph Guppy in October.

Exeter Crown Court heard they returned to Mr Guppy's house where Mr Guppy began "clowning around" and almost struck Green in the face with his hand.

Judge Robert Linford said it set off an "extreme reaction" in Green who attacked him with the axe. He was jailed for four years and 10 months.

Green had been convicted of grievous bodily harm at an earlier hearing at Taunton Crown Court in July.

During sentencing on Friday, the judge said Green had inflicted injuries which easily could have killed Mr Guppy.

"You went back to Mr Guppy's house where he was clowning around and dancing around and at some point his hand went close to your face.

"It was not an aggressive mood."

"It set off the most extreme reaction.

"You picked up an axe and struck him repeatedly about the head and body and caused multiple wounds and a small fracture of the skull."

The court was told he had carried out the attack while part way through a 'thinking skills course' which he had been sent on after stabbing a man with a screwdriver.