Thug's ‘disgraceful’ attack on 80-year-old man in Blackwood

Darryl Rees, 36, pushed his victim to the floor after he’d walked out of a shop and mistaken the defendant’s girlfriend’s car as his niece’s vehicle.

The assault on High Street in Blackwood town centre last Christmas with CCTV footage showing the pensioner, who uses a walking stick, being grabbed by the neck.

Rees bundled him to the ground and left him on the floor before concerned members of the public came to help him.

The defendant had just been to Greggs and the incident took place in the middle of the day in broad daylight.

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Prosecutor Jac Brown told Cardiff Crown Court how the victim had wandered out of a shop while shopping with his niece who was at the till.

The man had gone up to Rees’ partner’s car and began looking into it before the defendant got out and assaulted him.

He later lied to the police and told them the pensioner had been trying to steal from the vehicle and he’d “escorted” him from it.

Because of his age and ill health, the man spent three weeks in hospital although he did not sustain serious physical injuries.

He has suffered psychologically, as his niece said in a victim impact statement.

She told the court: “My uncle was the victim of an unprovoked attack on Blackwood High Street on Thursday, December 29, 2022.

“He suffers with dementia and is therefore particularly vulnerable and finds it difficult to communicate with others.

"My husband and I are his full-time carers.

“As he is incapable of supporting himself, my husband and I do everything for him.”

She added: “This was carried out by someone who is comfortable in carrying out acts of violence.

“He was once such an outgoing and independent person, even after his diagnosis of dementia, but since this act of mindless violence he has become a shell of his former self.”

Rees, of Anderson Place, Adamsdown, Cardiff pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The defendant has previous convictions for domestic violence which include wounding and assault by beating.

Martha Smith-Higgins representing him said: “He is devastated and very sorry for what happened.

“This was an offence which started as a very sad misunderstanding.

“The defendant believed incorrectly, but believed it nonetheless, that the victim was trying the door handle of his car.

“But what happened should not have happened and he accepts that he shouldn’t have behaved in the way he did.”

The Recorder of Cardiff, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, told Rees: “I hope you have come to the realisation that this was a disgraceful attack on a very elderly man.

“In the pre-sentence report you said to the probation officer that you're concerned about the impact an immediate custodial sentence would have on your 86-year-old grandmother.

“Reflect on how you would feel if someone treated her in the way that you treated your victim that day.

“You have history of violence and that is a very significant factor.”

The defendant was jailed for two years and four months.