Man said 'Do you want some of this?' before attacking stranger with broom handle in Doncaster town centre

Sheffield Crown Court heard how the victim was attacked by Colin Womack after the pair of strangers encountered each other in Doncaster town centre on September 25 last year.

In the moments leading up to the attack, the victim noticed Womack, aged 30, was carrying something that looked like a “broom handle”.

"As they crossed paths, the defendant said: ‘Do you want some of this?’” before hitting the victim with the broom handle, Rukhshanda Hussain, prosecuting, said.

The incident was witnessed by two police officers who happened to be in the area, and subsequently went over to Womack and the victim.

Ms Hussain told the court that Womack was “tasered” by the police officers due to the way he behaved when they approached him.

The victim suffered a “laceration to his forehead,” Ms Hussain said.

In a statement, the victim said he was “very shocked” by what had happened, and had been left “feeling concerned” that a similar attack could be inflicted upon a “child or adult person.”

Womack, of Carr House Road, Hyde Park was sectioned under the Mental Health Act shortly after the attack, but did not remain in a mental health facility for long.

Cheryl Dudley, defending, said it was not until Womack was transferred to Wathwood Hospital on June 2 this year for in-patient treatment that he began to make “significant progress.”

He subsequently entered a guilty plea to a charge of wounding without intent over the attack during an earlier court hearing.

Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist Dr Joanne Parry gave evidence to the court on Womack’s condition and confirmed he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Dr Parry said Womack told her he would stop taking medication for his condition if he was to leave the facility, and said her recommendation was for Womack to be sentenced to a hospital order, both for the “protection of the public” and to ensure he continued to receive treatment.

Judge David Dixon told Womack that under “normal circumstances” he would have been sentenced to immediate custody, and handed him a Section 37 hospital order with Section 41 restrictions.

Hospital orders can be used by judges who believe a defendant should be in hospital, instead of prison, to be treated for a serious mental health problem. A Section 41 “restriction order” is a more onerous order that can be imposed by judges who have concerns about public safety.

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