Man 'minding his own business' lost teeth after being viciously punched from behind on Hull street

An aggressive thug with a history of violence viciously punched a man in the head from behind in a nasty unprovoked street attack that caused the victim to fall heavily straight to the pavement and lose three teeth.

The victim was left on the ground with a lot of blood "surrounding" him and he suffered serious consequences, including not being able to smile for about three weeks. He could not speak without the help of false teeth that were eventually made for him after a long wait, a court heard.

Michael Anson, 36, of Caledon Close, off Holderness Road, east Hull, denied assaulting the man, causing actual bodily harm, on November 11, 2022 but he was convicted after a trial before Beverley magistrates. He had been committed for sentence to Hull Crown Court.

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Oliver Shipley, prosecuting, said that the man was walking down Alfred Gelder Street, Hull, towards the city centre when he heard someone shouting towards him. He turned and saw two men, who were not familiar to him.

"He thought that they were talking to each other," said Mr Shipley. "He continued on his way." The next thing that the man remembered was waking up on the pavement with a member of the public kneeling over him and telling him that an ambulance was on its way.

The victim noticed blood surrounding him on the ground. A woman on the scene had been walking towards the man when she saw Anson walk towards him at speed and punch him to the back of his head.

The victim fell straight to the ground. "His face took the entire impact on the concrete slab," said Mr Shipley. The woman telephoned for an ambulance and waited with the victim. Sime of his teeth had been knocked out and were on the floor.

"Significant amounts of blood were on the pavement," said Mr Shipley. Anson ran off towards the city centre after the attack. He was later arrested, with the help of CCTV pictures and his distinctive appearance, but he denied assaulting anyone. He claimed that he could not remember his whereabouts on that day.

When Anson was shown CCTV footage, he claimed that he might have been frightened at the time. "He continued to deny any involvement and sought to distance himself from the allegations," added Mr Shipley.

"This was an unprovoked, vicious attack from behind, which has resulted in serious injuries." The victim lost three teeth as a result of the assault. "He could not smile for around three weeks following the incident," said Mr Shipley. He suffered a mixture of discomfort and paranoia about his appearance.

The assault affected his speech and, without dentures, which he now had, he could not speak. "There was a waiting list for dentures," said Mr Shipley.

"Moulds were taken. He had repeated appointments, thankfully on the NHS. It was four or five months of having to suffer the effects before he felt comfortable again."

The victim later said that, at the time of the assault, he had been significantly affected by it. He felt that he could not leave his home because of the problems caused.

"I had to have time off work to recover from my injuries," he said. "I did not feel mentally strong enough to go back to work. It has taken its toll on me.

"I can't understand why someone I do not know would assault me like this. No one has the right to do this."

Anson had convictions for 14 previous offences, including assault in 2011 and assaulting police in 2012 and 2020 as well as threatening behaviour and driving while disqualified.

He represented himself in court and, when asked what he wanted to say, he showed no remorse and, instead, made a series of allegations against the victim.

He continued to deny that he carried out the attack and tried to cast blame on someone else at the scene. "Did the other person do this?" he asked. "I have no idea."

Anson claimed of the victim: "I have never actually seen him until I went to court the first time. I am only here to tell the truth." He claimed that the witnesses all knew each other.

"I understand that I have been charged for the offence and I will have to take the consequences," said Anson. "There is nothing more I can do but tell the truth."

Judge Tahir Khan KC said of the victim: "He was minding his own business when you came up behind him and struck him with such force that he fell straight onto the kerb and sustained significant injury.

"An eyewitness saw the attack and you running away. He lost three teeth because of your attack on him. It caused him discomfort and he could not speak without the aid of a denture. He had this discomfort for four or five months."

The victim also suffered a wound to his forehead and bruises around his eye socket as well as headaches. He needed stitches.

"Your attack on him is having a significant psychological impact on his daily life and his wellbeing," said Judge Khan. "The assault affected his ability to work.

"You were convicted after a trial. I gave you the opportunity of saying something in mitigation, expressing some regret for what you did, but all you could do was to tarnish the character of the victim and make allegations against him that I wholly reject."

Anson, who had been on bail, was jailed for two years.