Harry Groves, 21, jailed for eight years after baseball bat attack

David Rome, 26, was just 30 minutes from death when he underwent emergency surgery to remove his bleeding spleen and six months later is still unable to work full-time and faces a lifetime of preventative medication.

Jailing his assailant, Harry Groves, for eight years a judge told him: "The way you behaved that day was despicable."

Liverpool Crown Court heard that ironically 21-year-old Groves was himself the victim of an unprovoked stabbing attack last summer which has left him suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

But Recorder Mary Prior, QC, told him: "This was not an immediate reaction of horrendous fear as a result of PTSD. This was you in temper making poor choice after poor choice."

The court heard heard that he believed his ex-girlfriend Anna Fackey was seeing Mr Rome and gate-crashed a peaceful afternoon party in St Helens where they were “chilling” along with a group of friends in the garden.

Groves, who roared up in his Audi and came mob handed with three large friends, was shouting: "where is he?" and "get him out now".

Fearing for his safety Mr Rome grabbed a baseball bat they had earlier been playing games with, thinking if he saw it he would do nothing.

But instead of being deterred Groves asked what he was going to do with it and lunged at him before head butting him on the shoulder and snatching the bat off him.

He then punched him in the face and hit him to the head with the bat.

"Mr Rome blacked out but Groves continued to hit with while he was helpless and unconscious on the floor.

"He leaned over him saying, 'do you know who I am?' and ordered someone to get a towel for his victim's head," said Alaric Walmsley, prosecuting.

He and his companions left but before doing so turned to Anna Fackey and said, 'this is you fault.'

On arrival at the house in Forwood Groves had checked his target was there and left before returning shortly afterwards with his three friends.

Miss Fackey tried to block his path but he pushed her out of the way and she fell scratching her hand.

Groves, an apprentice mechanic, shouted 'someone get hold of her' and one of his friends picked her up and threw her to one side and they went into the back garden.

Footage from the householder's CCTV equipment and police body cam showed the attack and the victim lying on the grass with huge weals caused by the baseball bat on his back and side and with a bleeding head.

Mr Rome, a coach builder, was taken by ambulance to Whiston Hospital but transferred in the early hours of the next morning, April 23 this year, to Aintree Hospital as a CT scan had showed bleeding in his abdomen.

At Aintree Hospital it was decided he need to go immediately to surgery as his spleen was still bleeding and needed to be removed to save his life.

Mr Walmsley said he was discharged six days later but there are potential long term consequences of having no spleen including increased susceptibility to infections such as pneumonia and meningitis.

In impact statements Mr Rome told how his sleeping has been affected and he has lost his confidence. He is fearful if he hears a loud exhaust, like Groves’ car, and as well as the physical scars has been mentally affected.

"He wants the defendant to understand exactly what he has been put through, the massive effect on not only his life but that of his family," said Mr Walmsley.

Groves, of Chapel Avenue, Aintree, had pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Rome with intent and assaulting Miss Fackey, who Groves had gone out with for about a month.

Michael Hagerty, defending, said that Groves, who has no convictions but three cautions for damage and robbery, remembered punching and hitting the victim to the head but not the other blows.

He had claimed he acted in self-defence until shown the footage.

He had not taken a weapon to the scene and is suffering PTSD after being "the subject of a random attack by a neighbour who stabbed him in the abdomen.

"He has suffered a personality change."

Mr Hagerty said there was a background of ill-feeling between the two men and immature Groves wanted "to discuss it with him."

Sentencing Groves the judge said: "It is plain that on this day your intention was to have a fight."

She said Miss Fackey stood in his way thinking that Groves would not assault her.

"She was wrong, you pushed her out of the way causing her to fall over."

While he had not taken the bat with him it was clear that Mr Rome looked frightened and did not attack him with the weapon.

Witnesses described the blow to his head as making "a horrible noise" and it was clear throughout the incident that Groves was "in charge", she said.

After the hearing the victim's parents, Stephen and Lindsay Rome, who sat in the public gallery, said that David, their only child, had not felt able to attend the hearing as "he has spent the last six months trying to get rid of the memories."

His dad told how his son only cried on realising his plight when the surgeon told him to sign the operation consent form as he was just 30 minutes away from saving his life.

The couple, who were unable to see him for an agonising eight hours after surgery, said their lives have been changed forever as well as their son's and he no longer trusts people.

He was desperate to return to work but because he is still suffering from some dizziness he can currently only work part-time.

Mr Rome, snr, said that his son, who lives with them in Widnes, is well known throughout the country because of his interest and knowledge of Vauxhall cars and used to love going to vehicle events but no longer feels able to do so.

He told how on the afternoon of the attack he had desperately rushed to his son's side after getting a phone call about it.

His son had told him how he grabbed the first thing to hand which was a baseball bat, they had been playing with, but it could just as easily have been a chair or the Wendy house.