Drunken son almost blinded elderly Wakefield dad and told him: 'I've wanted to do this for years'
A son attacked his elderly father and almost blinded him during a row, but later told police he had been beaten “thousands of times” by his dad over the years.
Richard Vickers described his father as a “violent bully” after leaving the 72-year-old requiring surgery on his eye.
Vickers admitted GBH without intent at Leeds Crown Court. He appeared in court from HMP Leeds where he was being held on remand.
The court was told that Vickers was staying at his father’s home on Fairfield Avenue, Ossett, Wakefield.
In the early hours of August 28, Vickers returned after a night out and having had a “few drinks”, prosecutor Lea Levine said.
He found his diabetic father arguing with his teenage daughter about tidiness.
Vickers became angry and approached his father, who was sat watching TV in a chair next to his bed.
He began punching him to the face, striking him four times. He told his father: “I’ve wanted to do this for years.”
It was the first time he had used violence against his father.
The elderly man was taken to Dewsbury Hospital by his other son, then to Pinderfields for surgery after being unable to open his eyelid.
Having been arrested, 45-year-old Vickers admitted the attack during his interview, saying his father was being verbally abusive.
He said his own behaviour reminded him of how his father treated him. Vickers said he hit his dad four times but said his father him “thousands of times in the past”.
The court heard that the victim was still in hospital and his sight had not yet returned.
Mitigating, Lily Wildman told the court it had been a “short-lived, spontaneous assault”.
She said there was was a “significant history of violence and abuse towards the defendant”. She added: “There’s clearly more to this than meets the eye between the complainant and the defendant.”
She conceded that Vickers had a problem with alcohol and wanted to move away from the area on his release.
The judge, Recorder Tom Little KC said Vickers had shown “little remorse” for the assault, but conceded it was perhaps due to the claims about his father’s abusive ways.
He gave him a 20-month jail sentence, suspended for 24 months, with 25 rehabilitation days to complete, a 120-day alcohol monitoring requirement and a five-year restraining order to keep him away from his father.