South Shields thug forced his thumb into his girlfriend's eye until she blacked out and feared 'she was going to die'

A brute forced his thumb into his girlfriend's eye until she blacked out during a shocking attack - after she took too long in the hairdressers.
Ian GreenerIan Greener
Ian Greener

Ian Greener threw an ornament which smashed and showered his victim in glass, punched her in the head and stamped on her during the terrifying violence last December.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the victim "thought she was going to die" in the assault, which has left her with reduced visibility in the injured eye.

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Prosecutor Andrew Walker told the court the victim had gone to the hair salon on December 28 last year and Greener rang after an hour to see how much longer she would be.

Mr Walker said the 33-year-old then made a second call and added: "He made it clear that he wasn't happy at how long the visit to the hairdressers was taking.

"In the end, he simply turned up and sat and waited for her, at one point falling asleep."

The court heard Greener refused to sit next to the woman during a cab ride on the way home from the salon and during a row when they got to his home, he threw a glass candle which smashed, showering her face and hair.

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Mr Walker said at that point, the victim made a secret call to the police "because she knew she was going to receive a beating".

He added: "She went into the living room, pursued by the defendant who grabbed her and pulled her by the hair.

"He then delivered three to four punches with a clenched fist to hear ears and the side of her face.

"Due to the force of the punches, she fell to the floor. She was in pain and in fear.

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"While she was on the ground he tried to stamp on her rib area about four or five times.

"He then dug his thumb into her right eye, at which point she blacked out.

"She said before she blacked out she thought she was going to die."

The court heard by the time the victim came around, the police were in the house.

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Greener swung an item at an officer and spat towards his victim before he was tasered and arrested.

The victim suffered an injury to the white part of her eye that needed steroid treatment and she was left seeing "floaters".

She also had swelling and bruising as a result of the attack.

In a victim statement she said: "I've had constant nightmares and find it difficult to go to sleep."

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She said she feels "drained" and often needs to lie down and rest her injured eye, feels "paranoid" and has moved house.

The court heard her eye "constantly waters and twitches" which makes her feel self conscious and low.

Mr Walker said the victim had been previously warned by Greener that if she went to the police "he would throw acid at her face".

Greener, of Richmond Road, South Shields, who has 110 previous convictions, including violence, admitted assault and assault on an emergency worker.

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The court heard he has been held in custody on remand since the attack.

Mr Recorder Craig Hassall sentenced him to 23 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with programme requirements, a six-month nighttime curfew and a lifelong restraining order.

The judge told him: "You have served eight-and-a-half months during a time when custodial sentences have been made more onerous by the restrictions."

The judge said the time in custody means Greener now has a chance to be rehabilitated and the risk he poses can be managed while he is in the community.

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Susannah Proctor, defending, said Greener has accepted he did wrong and is keen to address his issues.

Miss Proctor said Greener had "slipped back into substance abuse" at the time of the offence but has a supportive family and is keen to make positive progress in his life.

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