Woman threw corrosive, industrial-strength cleaner in man's eyes during Knottingley street feud
An angry woman threw a industrial-strength cleaner into the eyes of a man during a street argument, leaving him needing surgery to save his sight.
Sophie Yorke flung the five-litre bottle of corrosive brick cleaner at the man after a verbal exchange in which she claimed he had been spreading rumours about her and her husband.
The man was left with his eyes and face burning from the toxic liquid and had two rounds of surgery to help restore his vision.
Yorke, 47, admitted a charge of GBH with intent and was jailed at Leeds Crown Court today for four years.
Judge Simon Batiste told her: “It had ‘corrosive’ in very large detail written on the side of it. It would have been obvious to anybody it was a highly-dangerous weapon you used to cause this injury.
“It’s so serious only a custodial sentence can be justified. It is a very serious offence.”
Prosecutor Austin Newman said the victim had been walking his dog at around 10pm on August 14, 2022, when he came across Yorke on Pontefract Road in Knottingley, who was also walking her dog.
She then became verbally abusive towards him, accusing him of spreading rumours. The victim recognised her and knew that she was in an ongoing spat with one of his friends who lives behind Yorke. He took his dog home and returned to Pontefract Road to speak with her.
He knocked on the woman’s door but nobody answered. He heard her shout from behind where she was stood with her husband and son. The man walked towards them, wanting to ask them about what they they thought he had done.
He noticed the husband unwrap something from a cloth, thinking it might be a weapon, but from nowhere, Yorke hurled the bottle of liquid straight into his face.
Temporarily blinded, the victim walked away without any help from Yorke, before a member of the public assisted him to a nearby friend’s home who administered first aid. The police and ambulance called and he was taken to Pinderfields.
He suffered injuries to both eyes, had to wear bandages and had to undergo surgery twice. Luckily, doctors are optimistic there will be no long-term damage but he will require ongoing treatment to prevent his eyes from drying.
The court heard the victim had suffered psychological trauma from the attack.
Yorke was arrested and initially claimed she threw the bottle but did not realise the lid was loose, which was not pursued. She also claimed she did not realise how corrosive the liquid was.
Yorke has previous convictions for assaults, battery and harassment. Mitigating, Andrew Stranex said it was almost two years since the attack and there had been no more issues involving Yorke.
He said: “She expressed genuine remorse for her actions and the injuries she caused. She made no attempt to minimise her behaviour.”
He said that her husband and son were in the public gallery and her actions have had a “massive impact” on her and her family.
Judge Batiste said that Yorke will have to serve two-thirds of her sentence before being considered for parole, rather than at the usual half-way stage. She was also given a 10-year restraining order to keep her away from the victim.