Mansfield man jailed after threatening woman he would 'set her on fire' before drunken attack

A Mansfield man has been locked up after attacking a woman after he threatened to ‘set her on fire’.
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David Smith, aged 32, flew into a drunken, violent rage, grabbed his 39-year-old victim by the throat and pinned her down on the floor.

When she wriggled free and tried to call her brother for help, Smith snatched the phone and threw it against a wall.

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He started to punch the woman repeatedly in the face during the unprovoked assault, leaving her needing hospital treatment for a broken nose and facial swelling.

David Smith, aged of John Woodhead Court, Mansfield, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, two counts of assault by beating and criminal damage.David Smith, aged of John Woodhead Court, Mansfield, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, two counts of assault by beating and criminal damage.
David Smith, aged of John Woodhead Court, Mansfield, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, two counts of assault by beating and criminal damage.

He also attempted to kick his 39-year-old victim in the ribs before she fought him off and fled from the house they were in at the time.

Outside, Smith was heard telling the woman he was going to ‘set her on fire’, until he was confronted by a 31-year-old man, who told him to leave her alone and tried to calm the situation, on June 29, last year.

However, Smith started to punch himself in the face and spat at the man repeatedly, before following him back to his house, where he tried to kick his way through a locked door.

Police attended and Smith was arrested in the man’s garden.

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After being taken into custody, officers heard him say he was going to kill the woman and would beat her up again when he was released.

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Knife

Nottingham Crown Court heard Smith also grabbed the woman by the hair and dragged her to the ground, before picking up a knife and threatening ‘I’m going to cut you up’ during a separate incident at the property in Mansfield six days earlier.

Smith, of John Woodhead Court, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, two charges of assault by beating and criminal damage.

He was jailed for two years and handed a five-year restraining order.

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PC Alex Thomas, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Smith subjected his victim to a horrible experience after flying into a drunken rage for seemingly no reason.

“A woman had to be taken to hospital following this attack, which will have also had a hugely detrimental effect on her from an emotional standpoint.

“This was an appalling act of violence that has absolutely no place in our society.”

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