Man jailed for Lincoln walking stick street attack

A man who carried out a street attack with a walking stick in Lincoln city centre has been jailed for nine months at Lincoln Crown Court.

Andrew Parsons struck the man with a walking stick following an altercation between them on Brayford Wharf North.

Tom Heath, prosecuting, said: “Parsons brandished the stick and used it to hit the man on the leg. Parsons continued to attack the man. A stand-off ensued during which the man picked up a chair to fend off Parsons.”

Mr Heath said that the incident was caught on CCTV, with the footage providing the only evidence, as the man who was attacked chose not to co-operate with police officers investigating the incident.

As a result of what was seen in CCTV Parsons was arrested within 20 minutes.

Mr Heath said: “He was taken to the police station and interviewed. He answered no comment to all questions but he did mention to the police that there was bad blood between the parties.”

The court was told that Parsons has 20 previous convictions for a total of 44 offences but none for violence.

Parsons, 46, of The Close, Sturton by Stow, admitted a charge of affray as a result of the incident on July 19 this year.

Stephen Bailey, in mitigation, said Parsons had previously served in the armed forces and as a result of his experiences he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder.

“He expresses remorse. He does not have any previous convictions for violence.

“He was in effect out of trouble between 2003 and 2016 so he can, and in an ideal world, would stay out of trouble.

“What seems to be the trigger is when he is not in a relationship and not in accommodation. He lives on the streets and in hostels and starts to take drugs.

“On this occasion he lost the plot because he was under an excessive amount of drugs and medication. He was out of his head.”