A man who attacked his own dad while he slept on a sofa, leaving him with a broken jaw and bruising, has been jailed.
Mark Meredith, who had been drinking, struck while his father was asleep on a couch, grabbing hold of him violently and he fell hitting his head on a brick wall.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that the incident happened at the Warrington home of Meredith’s then-girlfriend Victoria Barton on October 16 last year.
Katy Appleton, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that Meredith started calling Ms Barton abusive names and tried to head-butt her.
His father, Anthony Meredith intervened and told the defendant he was a coward and told him to go outside and calm down. Meredith did go outside and his dad told Ms Barton that he was ashamed of him.
He then fell asleep but was awoken by being grabbed and falling off the sofa and banging his head. “He had a pain to his head and back and his face was bleeding. He had severe bruising to his head and back.
“He stumbled outside from the address and sought assistance from a passer by and he was taken to Aintree Hospital.”
Miss Appleton said that he was found to have suffered a fractured jaw which took six weeks to heal and he had a large bruise to his back.
“The police tried to speak to the defendant via his telephone and he said he would not hand himself in and would go off grid until he had put in a few weeks to provide for his children.”
He was arrested on January 15 at HMP Forest Bank and when interviewed he said he had a “strange relationship with his father.” He admitted he got frustrated with his dad when he talked to Ms Barton.
Meredith, 35, of Glebe House, Rochdale Road, Middleton, pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm. He has 50 previous convictions for 95 offences including affray, dishonesty, robbery and drugs.
Sarah Haque, defending, said that he was brought up in care and by his half-sister and her brother has offered him a job in his window fitting business.
“He lost his mother and has now lost his relationship with his father as a consequence of this offending and lost his son as a result of the breakdown of his relationship with Ms Barton.”
He knows he needs help and his son is his motivating factor, she added.
Jailing him for two years Judge David Potter said, “Your father was particularly vulnerable when he began to be assaulted by you and it was a serious injury.
“A probation report shows you now have a sense of genuine remorse although you are someone self-centred, tending to blame others for the position you placed yourself in as a result of your loss of temper.”
The judge said that he had to consider the protection of the public and said there had to be an immediate jail term.
