Sam Tandy, 24, from Ashton-under-Lyne, has been jailed for 31 months after violently attacking his girlfriend at a holiday park and directing racially aggravated abuse at a police officer
A woman feared for her life while being subjected to a violent attack by her partner during a holiday park break.
Sam Tandy, 24, from Ashton-under-Lyne, had been in an on-off relationship with the victim since they were 11, she said, adding that he had been “volatile” in the past, particularly when under the influence of alcohol.
The pair were on a short break to a holiday park near Hexham in January this year when Tandy’s “distorted beliefs about power, control and entitlement” were laid bare during a violent assault, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
The court was told that Tandy had been drinking in a hot tub when he became aggressive. When the woman asked him to move away from the stove while she was cooking, he raised his hand as if to hit her.
He then returned to the hot tub and, while speaking on the phone, was heard saying: “I will get her in here and f****** drown her” and referring to her using abusive terms.
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The court heard that Tandy recorded a video and the woman became upset, telling him to sleep in the spare bed. He then began shouting, grabbed the woman and dug his nails into her, Chronicle Live reports.
Ian Windridge, prosecuting, said: “During the attack, he bit her left cheek and lip and he strangled her to the point she felt she was going to be sick.”
Tandy also kicked the woman, smashed plates and threw food around the property. He grabbed her coat, pulled her backwards and took her phone, hiding it. She ran to the bathroom and shut the door.
From inside, the woman could hear him ripping her coat. Mr Windridge said: “She could see his teeth were cracked and his mouth was bleeding and there were feathers from the coat on the floor.”
He was shouting “you’re going to make me kill someone” and began punching himself in the head and face. He then took some scissors and made a stabbing gesture towards her, the prosecutor said.
The woman was left with scratches and bruises. In a victim impact statement, she said: “The incident has left me very scared and frightened of what Sam could, or was about to, do to me. I genuinely feared for my life that night.
“I’ve been with him since we were both 11 and this is the most frightened I’ve been. There was no need for the violence. It was just a verbal argument and I didn’t deserve what happened.”
After his arrest, Tandy protested as a detention officer attempted to search him and directed a racist slur at the officer.
Tandy, of Winterford Road, Mossley, Ashton-under-Lyne, who has seven previous convictions and was on a suspended sentence for grievous bodily harm at the time, pleaded guilty to strangulation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of criminal damage against the woman. He also admitted racially aggravated threatening behaviour in relation to the police officer.
Sentencing him to a total of 31 months in prison, Recorder Simon Goldberg said Tandy has a “distorted belief about power, control and entitlement within intimate relationships”. He added: “It’s clear to me you feel your needs and desires should be prioritised over those of your partner.
“When you are disinhibited by drink, these beliefs manifest themselves in what can only be described as disgraceful behaviour towards your partner, and not for the first time.”
Liam O’Brien, defending, said: “He is deeply and genuinely ashamed by the way he behaved, assaulting [the victim] and behaving towards her in a manner that was as disgraceful as it was disgusting.
“He had far too much alcohol to drink and it caused him to behave in a shocking way. He tells me every offence on his record has been committed because of alcohol. He has decided it’s not worth it and that’s him done now with drink.
“There are references which speak of another side to his character. He is a loving uncle, a trusted friend and a man who can be relied upon as a good employee.”
