Kettering man attacked dementia-suffering gran and threatened to stab her

A Kettering man punched, kicked and threatened to stab his vulnerable grandmother - before claiming she had made it up and was confused because she had dementia.

Joe Clarke, 22, has been jailed after causing injuries which a judge described as "disgraceful", leaving his grandmother in agony after the 90-minute ordeal.

Yesterday (Monday) Northampton Crown Court heard Clarke, of Carey Street, was drunk when he went to his 83-year-old relative's home at about 3pm on March 6.

The terrified woman, who suffers from dementia, was sitting in her armchair when her grandson threatened her and started kicking her "for no apparent reason".

Prosecutor Adrian Amer said Clarke began throwing furniture around the living room - pushing over a high-standing shelf and smashing a lamp - before telling her he was going to stab her.

He then held a kitchen knife in his hand and started waving it around, cutting her left cheek, before punching and kicking her.

Mr Amer said: "She felt trapped and not knowing what he was going to do next."

The incident left the woman with cuts, bruising and a fractured wrist, and she was in so much pain she needed morphine.

Later that day her daughter came home and saw the injuries and Clarke was arrested.

But he gave no comment answers when interviewed by police and instead tried to claim she was making the attack up.

Mr Amer added: "He suggested that it was caused by her falling over and said she had dementia and became confused.

"He said he did not know why she was making it up."

Clarke, who has a previous conviction for threatening behaviour, was later charged with causing grievous bodily harm but pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of causing actual bodily harm.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, his grandmother said: "This incident has broken my heart.

"I do not understand why he has done this to me and I do not think I will be able to trust him again."

Mitigating, Liam Muir said Clarke was a man of limited previous convictions who had "clear" issues with anger and mental health, although these issues were not revealed in court.

Mr Muir said a community order would have more impact than a prison sentence so Clarke could get the help he needed.

He said: "Offering that help is the important thing."

But judge David Herbert said the attack was so serious a custodial sentence was the only outcome.

He said: "I have seen the photos of your grandmother and it is disgraceful that anyone should inflict these injuries on her."

Clarke was jailed for 30 months and will spend half in custody with the remainder on licence.

A restraining order was also made preventing him from contacting his mother or grandmother indefinitely.

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