Dangerous man sentenced for serious assault on a stranger

Danny Blueyes, 43, was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court today, Thursday 31 March after previously pleading guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent.

He has been sentenced to seven years in prison and an additional four on licence for his role in the attack. He must serve two-thirds of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

His seriously injured victim was abandoned in a lay-by on the B1035 near Lawford in freezing temperatures on the evening of 2 January 2021.

A passing motorist noticed him and stopped to come to his aid.

The victim was then taken to hospital for treatment, having suffered fractures to his face and arm, broken ribs and a broken leg. He now suffers from permanent disability and has said he has had “trouble adapting” and “struggled to cope” with life after the attack.

The court heard that Blueyes had willingly joined the attack after his two co-defendants, Paul Joseph and Joseph Bennett, had arrived at his house on Second Avenue on Walton-on-the-Naze earlier that afternoon in a red van.

Witnesses claimed that Blueyes exited the house with a sledgehammer, and continued the assault which was already taking place on the victim, during which he was beaten with metal poles and dumbbells.

The court was told Blueyes was assisting in a revenge attack over an allegation of theft. The victim had been staying at a property in Clacton when the home was burgled and, during the burglary, a number of model lorries belonging to Paul Joseph were stolen.

On the 2 January last year, he was later walking home from Clacton town centre when he was grabbed by Joseph and another unidentified male and pulled inside a nearby property.

He was subjected to an attack, which continued over multiple locations, and eventually saw him abandoned at the roadside.

Blueyes had been picked up from his home a short time later and joined in with the attack on the victim, who had been bundled in the back of the van whilst Bennett drove and Joseph enacted his revenge.

The court was told both 46-year-old Paul Joseph, of Austin Avenue, Jaywick, and co-accused Joseph Bennett, 55, of Yarmouth Road, Norwich, died before their cases could be heard.

Detective Sergeant Richard English, of Clacton CID, led the investigation. He said:

“Blueyes gleefully took part in this attack simply because he could, and he has left the victim with emotional and physical scars for the rest of his life.

“Although Blueyes was not present at the lay-by where the victim was abandoned, he took part in the brutal and sustained beating, which has left the victim – who was a complete stranger to him – changed forever.

“He bragged about his actions to neighbours because he wanted to be seen as someone who was above the law, but justice has been served today.

“I am glad that Judge Christopher Morgan saw Blueyes for the danger that he is, and declared him so, meaning that he must serve years behind bars before he is eligible for release.”