Two men sentenced after unprovoked attack on Salisbury dog walker
The incident took place in Old Sarum
Last updated 31st Mar 2021
Two men have been sentenced after attacking a dog walker in Salisbury unprovoked, in September 2018.
Michael Shord, 32 of Pinewood Close in the city, was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years, 15 days RAR (Rehabilitation Activity Requirement) and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
Meanwhile, Wesley Dyer, 19 of Catherine Crescent in Dinton, was given 18 months imprisonment suspended for two years and six months to run concurrently for possession of a bladed article
He was also given a 15 day RAR and ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work.
Both men had pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.
The incident happened on 18th September 2018 in Partridge Way, Old Sarum, when the victim, a man in his 40s, was walking his dogs with his young daughter.
He saw one of the men drop a crisp packet so he picked it up and went to hand it to them.
Shord and Dyer then reacted with "extreme anger and violence" threatening to "carve him up", burn his house down and kill his dog.
There was a physical altercation, before Dyer and one other person went to a nearby friend's house and emerged carrying an axe and a piece of metal.
The victim was then attacked and suffered a broken arm, his young daughter fled the scene to get help.
The police were then called and Shord and Dyer fled the scene, but they were quickly identified using CCTV footage from a nearby shop and then arrested.
Detective Inspector Dean Garvin, from Salisbury CID, said:
"This was a horrifying and violent attack on a man who simply pointed out that they had dropped litter.
What began as a simple conversation quickly escalated into an assault.
What makes it worse was that this violence was carried out in front of the victim's young daughter, who was unsurprisingly left extremely frightened and upset by what happened.
We will be working closely with our partners to make sure that this pair adhere to the conditions of their suspended sentence. I hope that they take up the opportunity that the court has granted them because I imagine that the impact of this day will remain with the victim and his daughter for some time to come."