A Frankley man who launched a violent, unprovoked attack on an elderly man in a West Heath street – stealing just a torch – has had his sentence increased by the court of appeal in London.
And the judge commended three bin men who rushed to the aid of the 72 year old victim during the early morning attack.
Original sentence
Kenny Field, 31, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to five and a half years in prison on Friday 24th November 2017 following the vicious attack which took place in January last year.
Field, of Cranbourne Close, had already smashed the window of a resident’s home in Forrell Grove before setting upon the 72 year old man in Redhill Road at around 6am on 19th January.
Unprovoked
Field punched the 72 year old in the head more than 20 times in the unprovoked early morning attack, fracturing his eye socket and rendering him unconscious.
The attack only ended when three refuse collectors rushed to the pensioner’s aid – the attacker fled with just the man’s torch.
Field was identified as the prime suspect after investigating officers trawled local CCTV footage. Having moved out of the area to try and evade capture, he was tracked down to an address in Stourbridge and arrested.
Unduly lenient
West Midlands Police officers launched an appeal against the sentence, saying it was ‘unduly lenient’.
On Tuesday 6th February, a judge at London’s Court of Appeal agreed and increased Field’s prison sentence from 5 and a half to 8 and a half years.
Bin men commended
The three bin men who rushed to the aid of the victim were also commended by the court.
Detective Constable Paul Jauncey said: “The new sentence better reflects the severity of the crime and will give Field the chance to reflect on his actions, that he has shown no remorse for.”
“This was a needlessly violent attack which left the victim with sickening head injuries. It was a relentless and cowardly assault by Field who tried to avoid justice by fleeing the area. However, through diligent detective work we were able to track him down.”
DC Jauncey said that Field had only answered ‘no comment’ during his police interviews, refusing to give a reason for the attack.