Thug battered and poured scalding hot water over his own mum before barricading himself in flat

A drug-fuelled thug has been sentenced to eight years of custody after he battered his mother and poured scalding hot water over her.

Mark Shaw, aged 42, of Little Norton Avenue, Norton, Sheffield, launched a horrific, unprovoked attack on his 65-year-old mother at their shared flat which left her covered in blood, scalded and with a serious head injury, according to a Sheffield Crown Court hearing.

Brandishing a hammer

Richard Thyne, prosecuting, told the hearing on August 17 that police forced their way into the barricaded flat after receiving a 999 call.

Officers found Shaw brandishing a hammer and he was restrained with the use of a stun-gun and handcuffs, the Sheffield Star reports.

Shaw’s mother was found lying on the floor with a swollen face and eye, according to Mr Thyne, and her face and clothes as well as the walls and carpet were covered in blood.

‘Prolonged and persistent’

Judge Jeremy Richardson QC told Shaw: “This was a case where you indulged in a particularly violent attack which was both prolonged and persistent towards your mother.”

He added: “It defies belief that a man could attack his mother in the way that you did. Unfortunately, you did attack your mother in the way you did as a result of you having consumed drugs and alcohol.”

Shaw’s mother suffered eye socket fractures possibly attributable to punches, according to Mr Thyne, as well as bruising to her face and facial burns, a pain to her chest, bleeding to the brain and defensive bruising to her forearms.

Mr Thyne said Shaw’s mother also suffered a cut to her head consisitent with the impact from a kettle but there was no evidence she had been struck by the hammer which the defendant had been holding when police arrived.

‘Pushed and grabbed’

The complainant said she could only remember being pushed and grabbed by the defendant and she has no recollection of what happened afterwards.

Shaw, who has one previous conviction for common assault from 2002, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent after the incident on January 1, 2021.

Ian Goldsack, defending, said Shaw had been suffering with deteriorating mental health as a result of substance misuse and he was full of remorse.

Shaw had stopped his long-term cannabis use suddenly, according to Mr Goldsack, but he then started bingeing on alcohol and cocaine and his behaviour changed and he became paranoid.

‘Voices in his head’

Mr Goldsack said: “He had recognised there were problems with his drug-misuse which is why he decided to stop 20 years or more of cannabis use. But he suppressed one problem and it caused another to pop up in its place and in this particular scenario it was cocaine.”

Shaw’s mother stated he had become difficult to live with because of the “voices in his head” and she told police her son had even talked about poisonous gases being pumped into the property.

Judge Richardson, who sentenced Shaw to eight years of custody, told him: “You indulged in a drug-fuelled attack upon your mother. You consumed a cocktail of cocaine and alcohol.”

He added: “You attacked your mother with your fists in a particularly brutal fashion about her head and body. You then threw very hot water over her. You then hit her with the kettle. This was a very serious and sustained attack.”

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