TWO men have been sentenced for a "horrifying and violent" attack on a dog walker who asked them to pick up their litter.

The court heard the pair "reacted with extreme anger and violence" after the victim saw one of the men drop a crisp packet, and picked it up and went to hand it to them.

Michael Shord, 32, of Pinewood Close, Salisbury, and Wesley Dyer, 19, of Catherine Crescent, Dinton, had previously pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and were sentenced on Friday, March 26 at Winchester Crown Court.

Shord was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years, 15 days RAR (Rehabilitation Activity Requirement) and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and to pay a court surcharge.

Dyer was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment suspended for two years, 15 days RAR and ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work, as well as six months to run concurrently for possession of a bladed article, and ordered to pay a court surcharge.

Pair 'reacted with extreme anger'

The court earlier heard about an incident in Partridge Way, Old Sarum, on 18 September 2018, when the victim, a man in his 40s, was walking his dogs with his young daughter.

The victim saw one of the men drop a crisp packet, so picked it up and it went to hand it to them.

But Shord and Dyer, who was a juvenile at the time, reacted with extreme anger and violence, threatening to “carve him up”, burn his house down and kill his dog.

There was a physical altercation, before Dyer and one other person went to a nearby friend’s house and emerged carrying an axe and a piece of metal.

The victim was attacked and suffered a broken arm.

The victim’s daughter had run off to get help and soon returned with her mother, and the police were called.

Although Shord and Dyer fled the scene, they were quickly identified using CCTV footage from a nearby shop and arrested.

Detective Inspector Dean Garvin, from Salisbury CID, said: “This was a horrifying and violent attack on a man who simply pointed out that they had dropped litter.

“What began as a simple conversation quickly escalated into an assault.

“What makes it worse was that this violence was carried out in front of the victim’s young daughter, who was unsurprisingly left extremely frightened and upset by what happened.

"We will be working closely with our partners to make sure that this pair adhere to the conditions of their suspended sentence.

"I hope that they take up the opportunity that the court has granted them because I imagine that the impact of this day will remain with the victim and his daughter for some time to come."

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