Notts man beat another with metal bar in unprovoked attack

David Robson was already serving a 12-year prison sentence for committing grievous bodily harm in 2014 when he started hearing voices and was transferred to the mental institution, located in Nottinghamshire.

Robson, 28, had already admitted the second count of grievous bodily harm, which took place in February 2019, when he appeared via videolink at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday, November 18.

Prosecuting, Mark Achurch, said Robson had unscrewed the leg of the chair and walked into a common room where the other patient was sleeping in a chair and hit him with the pole up to five times.

“He had showered and was waiting for an orderly so he could put things away in his locker and he then attacked the patient while he was asleep,” Mr Achurch told the court.

The court heard that Robson had a string of previous convictions for violence, including robbery in 2008 and two counts of possession of a bladed article in 2011.

He also assaulted a staff member in May last year, following the attack on the patient.

The victim had to be treated for bruising to his head and a broken finger, which he sustained while trying to defend himself.

Doctors also told the court that, following his arrival at Rampton, Robson had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and there had been no further incidents since the attack in May.

Mitigating, Claire Brocklehurst said: “At the scene the defendant said it was due to his madness - he had not chosen him as a victim, it was just random.”

Following the attack, a specialist riot team who were training at the hospital at the time were redeployed to detain Robson after he barricaded himself into the common room with furniture, the court heard.

Ordering Robson to be further detained under the Mental Health Act, Judge John Burgess told him: “Doctors consider that what you did was prompted by your mental health. You represent a significant risk to the public of causing serious harm.”

Editor’s message: In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.