Woman loses half her finger after ex-serviceman lashes out with knife
An ex-Grenadier Guards soldier viciously lashed out with a 10-inch-long kitchen knife – and severed the tip of a woman's finger – during frightening scenes of "chaos" at a block of flats.
She did not, at first, realise what had happened during the violent confrontation involving rival groups of people until she suddenly saw blood gushing out from the nasty wound. More of her little finger later needed to be amputated down to the knuckle, Hull Crown Court heard.
Daniel Sirrs, 33, of Dane View, Dibsdane, Orchard Park estate, Hull, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possessing a kitchen knife as an offensive weapon on April 24. He also admitted possessing a knuckleduster as an offensive weapon during a separate incident on November 15.
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Leila Taleb, prosecuting, said that a woman went to the home of her brother, who, at the time, lived in the same block of flats as Sirrs. There had previously been problems between the brother and Sirrs.
She heard banging and a group of females came running up the communal stairs. Sirrs came up the stairs holding a knife with a 10-inch-long blade.
He was swinging the knife in a stabbing motion towards the woman and a brother. He did that several times, putting the knife through the railings of the stairs.
"The defendant caught her little finger on her left hand with the knife," said Miss Taleb. "He continued to swing the knife. Everybody was shouting very loudly." There were three stabbing motions.
At the time, the woman did not realise that she had been stabbed with the knife until she saw a large amount of blood coming from her finger. An ambulance was called and she was taken to hospital.
The bone had been exposed and the tip of her finger was severed. The tip was recovered from the scene. It was decided that she would need an operation to remove more of her finger.
"The end of her finger was, unfortunately, amputated all the way down to the knuckle," said Miss Taleb. The woman had been left suffering anxiety and, although she had tried to block the incident out of her head, she had been left feeling up and down and she had trouble sleeping.
She had stopped going out because her anxiety had got worse. She had been back on antibiotics and had suffered throbbing pain. She struggled with daily tasks. Painkillers did not seem to do a lot for the pain.
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The other incident involving Sirrs happened on November 15 at Hull Paragon interchange at 1.57pm after a police officer spotted him smoking a joint of cannabis. He was found to have a knuckleduster on him, which he claimed at the time was ornamental, although he did not later continue with that story.
Sirrs made no comment to questions during police interview. He had convictions for five previous offences between 2012 and 2020, including assaulting an emergency worker and, most recently, criminal damage and harassment in 2020.
Cathy Kioko-Gilligan, mitigating, said that Sirrs recognised that the stabbing was serious. "This was clearly an unpleasant incident which escalated and, with hindsight, the defendant realises that he should never have gone inside and armed himself with a knife," said Miss Kioko-Gilligan.
"The consequences have been dire for the complainant. He does bitterly regret his actions on that night. It was a grave injury that resulted in permanent, irreversible injury.
"At the time, the defendant was struggling and he had been struggling for a number of years."
Sirrs had previously been a soldier but he was medically discharged because of an injury that he suffered while on tour in Kenya during the Ebola crisis. "He served in many areas where there was conflict," said Miss Kioko-Gilligan.
"He has seen action. His return to civilian life has been difficult for him. He was able to gain employment and had been working hard." Sirrs later continued to suffer difficulties. He had been in custody since April 26.
"It is the first time that the defendant has been in custody and it has been extremely difficult for him," said Miss Kioko-Gilligan. "The defendant is remorseful and he recognises that he needs support and he is eager to receive that support."
Judge Richard Woolfall said that there was a grievance between Sirrs and the people in the flat above where he was living and it resulted in some sort of dispute that involved the woman going downstairs to his flat.
"Something happened" and there were scenes of "chaos". Another man came outside. Sirrs seemed to believe that the man had a screwdriver.
"You rushed back into your property and emerged with a kitchen knife with a blade of about 10 inches and then the chaos became even worse," said Judge Woolfall. Sirrs swung the knife towards a group of people and he made swinging or stabbing motions through railings three times. The tip of the woman's finger was severed.
"It's fortunate that more people weren't injured given the way that you were behaving with that knife,"
said Judge Woolfall. "You were in possession of a highly dangerous weapon.
"It's a sad day to see an ex-Grenadier Guard, who has served his country for six years, before the courts. Obviously, you had hoped that this career in the army was going to be long-term and, through no fault of yours, it was cut short. You found yourself without the job that you loved."
Sirrs would, as a soldier, have received training in the past to deal with conflict. "He has a military background and he will have had training to deal with confrontational situations," said Judge Woolfall.
"I am surprised and disappointed that, with that background, he has behaved in that way."
Sirrs was jailed for two years and seven months and he was given a five-year restraining order.