Thug jailed for barbaric attack at Cornwall bus stop

Jon Turner, 33, from Hayle, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for GBH with intent and assault on a man who protected a group of teens Turner had been confronting while drunk in May 2024 in Hayle
-Credit: (Image: Devon and Cornwall Police)


A man was nearly killed by an alcoholic whose life spiralled out of control when he tried to protect a group of teens at a bus stop. The local resident had witnessed a scuffle and argument taking place outside the bus stop in Beatrice Terrace, Hayle, and came out to confront the aggressor after a teenage boy aged 14 was pushed.

Jon Turner, 33, had got onto an incoming bus but decided to step back off and launched an assault on the man who confronted him. Not only did he punch him but when the Good Samaritan man fell to the ground, Turner stamped on and kicked him in the head.

At a sentencing hearing at Truro Crown Court today (Tuesday September 24) in connection with a charge of GBH with intent which he pleaded guilty to, it was heard how the man who had tried to protect the teens from Turner, on May 9 this year at around 4.30pm, received very serious injuries including a fractured skull around the eye socket, a fractured jaw, three broken ribs and a collapsed lung. The man made a full recovery.

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His Honour Judge Simon Carr told Turner that had it not been for the amazing medical help and care his victim had received at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, his victim would no doubt have died.

The hearing was told how when he was arrested Turner at first could not recall landing any blows. In his defence his barrister said his life went down hill when he lost his job in 2022.

Turner's barrister said: "Up to October 2022 all was well in this man's world. He was in a stable relationship. He just had a son and he was in work. He had an accident at work which stopped him from working long term and he spiralled into an alcoholic depression that reached an all time low on that day in May."

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His barrister said Turner had spent the last four months at Exeter Prison and had made progress with his alcoholism and had become a more stable man who has work and his being treated for his anxiety and also has a prospect of employment once out of jail.

Judge Carr told Turner he was an alcoholic and needed to stay clear of any booze for the rest of his life, adding: "You got into a verbal dispute with a group of teenagers. Your victim intervened to protect a child from an aggressive drunk. The matters were caught on CCTV.

"You got back off the bus to confront him. Blows were bad enough but you stamped and kicked him in the head leaving him unconscious. His injuries were so serious he had a collapsed lung. He would have died without professional help. You have accepted your alcoholism and have been addressing it in prison.

"You can't drink again. You need to be abstinent for the rest of your life." Turner was sentenced to four and a half years in jail.

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