Man avoids prison after 'traumatic' attack on high-ranking military officers in Scarborough

The female victims, who are partners, were back home on annual leave and on a night out with friends and family in the town centre when they came across an “altercation” in the street involving 51-year-old businessman and engineer Scott Irwin, his friends and a group of girls standing in a shop doorway, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Kelly Sherif said that when the two victims tried to separate the warring factions, Irwin – who had walked away from the initial confrontation but returned after realising his friends were still involved - suddenly turned violent.

One of the women was floored by a “heavy” punch to the face, knocking her unconscious.

Her partner, a staff sergeant in the Royal Logistic Corps, was put in a headlock by Irwin and she too ended up on the ground.

Irwin then kicked her in the head.

She suffered a displaced tooth, bruising and tenderness to her face and a split and swollen lip, but her partner needed emergency hospital treatment after suffering facial injuries and losing consciousness.

Police were called and Irwin was arrested.

He was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to the injuries inflicted on the hospitalised woman and assault by beating in relation to her partner who was kicked in the head.

He admitted both offences and appeared for sentence on Thursday, September 6.

Both victims, who were named in court, made impact statements which were read out in court.

The woman who was kicked in the head said she had served in the army for over 20 years and been involved in active service and “multiple (military) operations”, including in Iraq, but had “never experience anything like this (assault)” which gave her an “overwhelming feeling of fear and discomfort”.

She described the attack, which occurred in the early hours of March 20, as “brutal, unprovoked and terrifying”.

She said both she and her partner were “tiny in comparison” with their attacker and that they felt “powerless and terrified”.

She and their friends and family had enjoyed a meal at a restaurant in Scarborough before the attack in which her partner was “sent flying to the ground” after trying to protect her.

The victim said she had suffered migraines since the attack and had to take four weeks off work.

She later received dental treatment for “severely” loosened teeth and was told she may need regular dental monitoring.

She said the attack had “changed me” from a “confident and outgoing” person to one who rarely went out.

Her partner’s “shocking” injuries had only increased her anxiety.

Her partner, who is also a long-serving sergeant and military-skills instructor, said she still suffered from stress and anxiety due to the attack which she described as “traumatic”.

She said it had affected her social life and she had to take six weeks off work.

It was “incredibly difficult” to return to work because of her “noticeable” facial injuries.

Defence barrister Oliver Cook said that Irwin, from Lancashire, was genuinely remorseful for what he described as a moment of “madness” and had since stopped drinking altogether.

Irwin, who has previous two previous convictions for serious violence, ran a business ran with his partner in which he worked as a mechanic.

Judge Simon Hickey said the “brutal (and) shocking” attack had had a “drastic effect” on the victims’ personal lives and military duties.

However, he noted Irwin’s glowing character references from people in “responsible positions” and said that because the defendant had made early admissions and efforts to stop drinking, as well as the fact that his business could be in jeopardy if he were sent to jail, he could suspend the inevitable prison sentence.

Irwin, of Sower Carr Lane, Poulton-Le-Fylde, was given an eight-month suspended jail sentence and ordered to carry out 250 hours’ unpaid work, along with 15 days of rehabilitation activity.

He was ordered to pay one of the victims £500 compensation for the damaged teeth and the other woman £400 for her injuries.

Irwin was also made to pay £425 prosecution costs.