Cold-blooded brute almost severed Burton Latimer man's nose

A sadistic brute almost severed a Burton Latimer man's nose with a stanley knife - before trying to make the scene look like he was the victim.

Andros Allen left his victim gurgling blood after he was asked to leave his house and then fractured a woman's skull when she intervened.

The 38-year-old placed knives around the house and gave himself minor abrasions so he could attempt to claim it was self-defence.

And even after a jury saw through his lies he showed no insight into his behaviour - saying he could have jumped on his first victim when asked what he could have done differently.

The terrified victim said: "It's been nothing but a nightmare for me."

Today (Thursday) at Northampton Crown Court Recorder Francesca Levett handed Allen an extended sentence, with eight years in prison, for the protection of the public.

The court heard Allen had been staying with a man and had exploited his vulnerability to outstay his welcome.

On February 19 the thug, both of his victims and another witness had been drinking at the Burton Latimer house when the tenant made it clear Allen was no longer welcome.

But Allen did not take his notice to leave well.

Later that evening, while his intoxicated victim was snoozing, Allen punched him to his face and body. He took a stanley knife to his face and almost severed his nose, leaving him gurgling blood.

By this point a 999 call had already been made as another woman, who is in her 50s, intervened and tried to get between the pair.

But Allen wrestled her to the ground and pinned her down. He then drew a knife across her forehead - leaving a scar - before hitting her head so hard she suffered a fractured skull. He claimed she suffered the injuries because he threw a mobile phone at her.

Her terrified screams and wails were audible on the 999 call with blood splattered on the wall, the court heard.

Allen placed knives around the victim's flat and inflicted minor cuts on himself to make it look like it was self-defence, before urging the witness to lie about what happened.

Recorder Levett said Allen's attempted cover-up showed a "sinister dimension" and that he demonstrated a "sadistic pleasure" in causing people pain.

She added that the way he described the blood splatter in an interview was "chilling".

Allen, who wore a white shirt and black tie in the dock, showed little emotion as details of his horrifying violence were read out in court today.

He appeared for sentencing after a jury found him guilty of one charge of wounding with intent and a second charge of unlawful wounding.

Prosecuting, Fergus Malone read out victim impact statements on behalf the two people Allen attacked.

He said the man was now scared all the time, doesn't want to go out, struggles to sleep at night and that Allen had ruined his life.

Reading the man's statement, Mr Malone said: "Living here scares the s*** out of me."

The second victim has since had to move away from Burton Latimer, fearing Allen would come and get her.

She suffers anxiety, flashbacks and nightmares and still has a scar on her head, sweeping her hair over it whenever she passes a mirror.

Mr Malone said: "She won't leave the house unless the scar is covered by her fringe."

The violence was not the first time Allen had been involved in an incident with a knife.

Having himself been stabbed in 2013, he was jailed for two years in 2016 for a charge of wounding - one of his 32 previous convictions for 73 offences.

He had cut his victim's head and shoulder before leaving them with a large abdominal injury - effectively cutting their stomach open - with a 10in combat knife.

Recorder Levett told him he had either learnt nothing from past incidents or chose to ignore the danger involved with knives.

She said: "Your instinct to resort to using a knife when problems occur is of great concern."

The court heard a report had found he had problems with his temper and posed a high risk of serious harm - including a risk of a potential fatality because of his use of knives.

It said he had a history of paranoia and anxiety, exacerbated by drinking and drug-taking.

Defending, Daniel Green said Allen was having difficulties in prison having been on remand since the incident.

He said: "He has had time to reflect on what happened and he is sorry for it."

But Recorder Levett said Allen had demonstrated no insight to his behaviour - even adding another potential method of attack when interviewed about the incident.

She said: "When asked what you could have done differently, rather than say you could have walked away, you said you could have jumped on him."

She said Allen presented such a risk it was necessary to impose an extended sentence for the protection of the public.

Allen was handed an extended sentence of 10 years, made up of eight years in prison and two extra years on licence when he is released.

He will have to serve at least two-thirds of his eight-year prison term before he can be considered for parole.