Terminal cancer patient battered by thug on his doorstep

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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TERMINAL cancer patient Ken Oliver from Broxbourne ended up in intensive care with a blood clot on the brain after a drunken yob knocked on his door by mistake and beat the living daylights out of him.

Furious Ken, 62, of Park Lane – who has only been given a short time to live - says he feels justice has not been served after 19-year-old Reece Kent of The Croft, Broxbourne, got away with a suspended prison sentence.

He hit out: “I would love to have seen him go away for a long, long time. I could quite easily have died. I was expecting him to go to jail. I am gutted.”

Kent, who pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm on October 23 last year, was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,000 compensation to Ken.

The callous attack at 3.30am left Ken in the Princess Alexandra Hospital with a cracked left cheekbone, extensive bruising round his left eye and face, a dislocated right little toe because he was barefoot and when a CT scan revealed bleeding in the brain and left temple he was transferred to Queen’s Hospital, Romford, for a week.

Ken was diagnosed with kidney cancer two-and-a-half years ago along with secondary lung tumours. Just five weeks before the attack he had undergone a serious operation to remove a third of one lung.

Ken was in court with wife, Pauline, son Tony and brother Gordon to hear the sentencing on Monday.

Pauline, 64, said: “We feel at least three months of our life was ruined.”

And retired heating and ventilation engineer Ken said be believes the blood thinner Warfarin he was taking saved his life.

He slammed: “I am appalled at the sentence. They were swearing and laughing in my face. He should have been locked up for what he did. His barrister said he feels remorse but when he turned up in court he just sneered at me.”

St Albans Crown Court heard on Monday (November 18) that when Ken opened his door after hearing a loud banging he was confronted by three youths shouting ‘Is Molly there?”.

He was also being filmed on a mobile phone as he stood there in his underpants. Then he was punched by Kent and kicked by him while on the ground

Prosecutor Geoffrey Porter said Ken was at home with his wife looking after their three-year-old granddaughter at the time.

After Ken said he did not know anyone by the name of Molly the attack began, leaving him feeling ‘very unwell and confused’.

Defence barrister Daniel Jameson said Kent was currently employed by Royal Mail and wanted to be a fireman like his father and older brother and had cut down his heavy drinking since the attack.

Recorder Peter Digney told him: “The man you kicked was a man who had enough problems without you adding to them.”

He had decided by the ‘slightest margin’ not to send him to jail.

Molly, who the youths were looking for, had previously lived two doors down from the Olivers.

Ken and Pauline said after the hearing that they learned the trio had knocked on the wrong house for a mobile phone which had been left in a cab which Molly had picked up to return the next day.

“ I hope he is ashamed for the rest of his life,” said Ken.~

[delboy]

SHAME on Royal Mail, if they are still employing this thug!

[jonnieboy]

Does this guy DELIVER to people's houses? I live in Hoddesdon and would hate to think he may be knocking on MY door?

[Lounge Lizard]

Does this guy DELIVER to people's houses? I live in Hoddesdon and would hate to think he may be knocking on MY door?

No, more likely he's a manager.