Two people jailed after vicious attack left their victim fearing he would never walk again
“The surgeon told me I was lucky not to be paralysed…my whole life has changed”
On Monday, 27 February 2023 the victim, a young man in his 20s, was walking along St. John’s Street in Farncombe when a car pulled up.
One of the defendants, aged 17 at the time, leapt out and made for the victim armed with a large bottle. The victim was able to duck when the bottle was swung at him, and it smashed against a wall.
The defendant, joined by the car’s driver, Seth Jones, set upon the victim, dragging him to the ground and kicking him repeatedly to the head, back, and abdomen.
The attack only came to an end when concerned members of the public shouted and beeped their car horns, and the defendants returned to their car and fled the scene.
The victim was rushed to hospital with two fractured vertebrae and spinal cord damage.
For more than a week he was paralysed from the neck down, unable to move anything except his head.
He has spent the last two years trying to recover his strength and mobility but still feels the devastating effects of this brutal attack every day.
Seth Jones was sentenced on Friday, 22 August to eight years’ imprisonment.
The 17-year-old pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent in April 2023. He was jailed for five years and three months in January 2024 and given a 10-year-restraining order.
The victim said, “My whole life has changed. The bones in my neck were removed and replaced with metal."
“The doctors and surgeons told me that it is all a guessing game – my situation could get worse and not heal or it could get better."
"I hope that their time in prison allows them to reflect upon their actions.”