Terrified stranger 'feared she would die' after being grabbed and bitten on Wakefield street by drug thug
A thug who chased down a woman on a Wakefield street, threatened to kill her and “bit her head” has been jailed.
Christopher Wordsworth got the woman in a headlock even after she had sought refuge in an estate agents in what the judge at Leeds Crown Court described this week as being a “terrifying” ordeal.
He was given a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) to prevent him begging and drinking in public in Wakefield.
The court heard that the innocent woman had been walking to the gym and was waiting at lights to cross the road on Northgate in Wakefield at around 5pm on August 20, 2024.
Wordsworth, 44, then barged past her and walked into the road. Inexplicably, he then turned around and said: “Come here.”
He then ran towards her and she tried to flee into a nearby estate agents. She closed the door behind her but he forced his way in, trying to grab at her.
He managed to grab her necklace, causing it to snap, before putting her in a headlock and leaving her gasping for air.
He told her: “I’m going to f****** kill you.”
Witnesses said he then bit her to the head. Members of the public were able to push him away from the premises.
In a victim impact statement, the victim says she now “thinks twice” when she steps out of her home.
She added: “I felt completely helpless. He was too strong and I could not get away.
“I genuinely believed I was going to die.”
Wordsworth, who was living at the homeless shelter at Marsh Way House, Wakefield, admitted common assault, strangulation and criminal damage.
He has 43 previous convictions for 78 offences. He appeared in court via video link from HMP Leeds.
Mitigating, Thomas Doyle said that drug-addict Wordsworth had missed his methadone prescription that day which “played a role” in his behaviour.
He said Wordsworth had a “privileged” upbringing and was privately educated, but began to take drugs at the age of 14.
His use of substances later escalated, he lost his job and committed more crimes.
The judge, Recorder Jeremy Hill-Baker, told Wordsworth: “It was a frightening piece of irrational behaviour.
“You picked on this innocent stranger in the street.
“It’s set against a background of repeated offending of assaults and threatening behaviour in public places.
“What lies at the heart of your offending is your addiction to alcohol and drug abuse.
“It’s plain on the day in question you had drunk a good deal and failed to take your methadone.
“One can only imagine how terrifying it was for the victim who was just trying to go about her lawful business.”
He jailed Wordsworth for 21 months and gave him the CBO for a period of four years.
A term of the order to ban him from Wakefield city centre was not approved by Recorder Hill-Baker, but the terms to ban him from begging and drinking in public were upheld.