Sunderland thug battered his love rival

Nov 17 2009 by Garry Willey, The Journal

A HATE-filled thug who left a love rival on the brink of death was today beginning an indefinite sentence behind bars.

Blameless victim Andrew Adams suffered such appalling head injuries, detectives launched a murder-style inquiry fearing he would not survive.

Only the skill of medics who treated his multiple skull fractures and blood clot on the brain saved his life.

But the beating 29-year-old Paul Watson inflicted was so ferocious Mr Adams will never fully recover.

And the attacker, who has a history of violence , even whistled The Great Escape theme tune as he was led from the Newcastle Crown Court dock to begin his sentence under protection laws.

He had rained blows on Mr Adams with a metal pole and also stabbed him when he found him asleep on a sofa with his former partner Sarah Clough at her Wearside home.

Judge Beatrice Bolton told Watson: “You used that weapon to an enormous extent and it is not an exaggeration to say you beat the living daylights out of him.

“It is abundantly clear that you are an ongoing and serious risk of harm to the public. You very nearly killed a man.”

Watson, who admitted grievous bodily harm with intent, assaulting Ms Clough and criminal damage, must serve a minimum of five-and-a-half years before he is considered for release. But he won’t be set free until the parole board decide he is no longer a danger.

Trouble had already flared hours before the attack when Watson arrived to pick up his two children at Ms Clough’s home in Marley Potts, Sunderland, on November 8 last year. He slapped her when he saw Mr Adams inside, smashed a window with a baby buggy, and hurled the family’s pet dog through the shattered glass.

Watson then returned that night after a drinking session, later claiming he had gone to apologise. Instead, he looked through the window, saw the couple asleep on a sofa, and saw red, the court heard.

Tim Parkin, prosecuting, said: “This began as what was thought to be a murder inquiry and it is because of the care and dedication of medical staff, as well as the fact he is resilient, that the defendant is not facing that charge.”

Mr Adams was left with headaches, blurred vision, memory loss, and a significant change in his personality.

Convicted robber Watson, from South Durham Street, Sunderland, had breached an electronically tagged curfew to launch the attack.