The victim ‘might never make a full psychological recovery’, Hull Crown Court heard
Scott Harrison, 21, and Bethany Davis, 26, both of Hull were sentenced at Hull Crown Court(Image: Humberside Police/Hull Live)
A Hull man who launched a machete attack on a woman outside her home has been jailed, while his co-accused was given a suspended sentence after she entered the fray with a hockey stick. The victim was trying to get the pair to pay a debt when they began to attack her, fracturing her jaw and causing an 8cm laceration on her face, Hull Crown Court heard on Friday.
Scott Harrison, 21, of Bridlington Avenue, Hull, was jailed for six years and three months for carrying out the machete attack on the woman on February 25 this year. He pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent, with a judge saying it was “only good fortune” that her injuries were not more serious. Bethany Davis, 26, of Appleton Road, Hull, joined in the attack by wielding a hockey stick, injuring the victim’s brother. She pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm without intent, and was given a one year and six month sentence, suspended for two years.
The court heard how, in late 2025, the victim lent Harrison money, and then chased up the debt “on several occasions over the following weeks or months”. On the day of the attack, the victim sent a message to Davis asking for the money, or for items to be sold in order to pay the debt.
Later that day, the victim was visited by a hooded Harrison at her flat. Thinking he was there to pay off the debt, she went outside to meet him. As she approached Harrison, he produced a machete from behind his back and ran at her. The victim ran, and was chased. She stopped, tried to calm him, and asked him to put the weapon down.
The machete struck the victim “in a deliberate blow to her head”, prosecutors said. The victim’s brother then tackled Harrison to the floor, while Davis was encouraging her co-accused to “get him”.
The victim described hearing a “squelch” and realised she was bleeding. Davis then emerged with a hockey stick, which she used to strike the victim’s brother to the head. The court heard the victim “was determined to stay awake due to concerns for his sister”. Residents of nearby flats filmed part of the incident. Witnesses and CCTV recorded Davis swinging the hockey stick around attempting to hit anyone she could in the vicinity, leading to a man sustaining a head injury.
The victim suffered an 8cm wound to the right side of her face, from her hairline to her ear, and a fractured jaw. Her brother suffered injuries to his head and cuts to his hands. Both Harrison and Davis were arrested and initially denied being the aggressors of the attack.
Harrison initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted murder. A trial was set to take place at Hull Crown Court in August. However, on the first day, Harrison pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent, and Davis to grievous bodily harm without intent, which the Crown Prosecution Service accepted.
In mitigation for Harrison, Benjamin Donnell told the court he had kept a stable job with his father’s scaffolding business for most of his adult life and had not been in trouble with the police for several years before the attack.
Sentencing Harrison, His Honour Judge Thackray said: “You armed yourself with a fearsome weapon. The incident could so easily have led to a fatality here and you facing an inevitable life sentence. You struck two blows towards your victim. It’s only good fortune that’s prevented her having much more serious injuries. She might never make a full psychological recovery.”
In mitigation for Davis, the court heard she had had a difficult childhood, a difficult relationship with Harrison and had no previous convictions.
Judge Thackray told Davis: “I can’t ignore that at one point you were encouraging Mr Harrison. You were brandishing this hockey stick. Not only brandishing it, but you used it. At one point, you were encouraging your co-accused and you caused a significant injury which could have been far worse.”
He gave her an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. “This is very much a compassionate, lenient sentence for an incident which is so serious,” he told her.
Humberside Police Detective Constable Chloe Campbell-Hamilton, who led the investigation, said: “Harrison and Davis are a dangerous duo who attended the woman’s house armed with weapons, with one motive – to cause significant harm.
“Whilst I am pleased that Harrison and Davis admitted what they have done and will now have time to reflect on their actions, by no means does this undermine what they put the man and woman through, and they both must continue to live with the mental and physical scars as a result of the attack. Violent offending of any nature will not be tolerated, and we will always do everything we can to hold offenders like Harrison and Davis accountable, stacking up evidence to lead perpetrators to plead guilty and get justice for victims.”
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