A MAN from Colwyn Bay has received a 11-year jail sentence today (August 8) after pleading guilty to a charge of wounding with intent.

Dale Anderson, 31, of Conway Road, was accused of stabbing his then-partner, Rebecca Jones, with a kitchen knife, then putting his hands around her neck when she grabbed it, in February.

He was also ordered to pay £15,000 in compensation to Jones, though he protested he did not have the money. 

He will not be eligible for release until at least two-thirds of his sentence has been served.

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On his 31st birthday, Anderson appeared by video link from Berwyn Prison, when he was sentenced by Judge Timothy Petts at Caernarfon Crown Court.

Elen Owen, prosecuting, said the attack happened at a first floor flat in Colwyn Bay when a three-year-old boy was asleep.

They had an on-off relationship, but she maintained he was controlling and sometimes used cocaine.

She had struggled to breathe when his hands were around her neck and then he had smashed her head against a mirror while pressing his thumbs into her eyes.

After the attack, she had driven to hospital the next day when the full extent of her injuries was realised.

Jones had lacerations to her right chest, neck, face, scalp and arm and had to receive surgery.

A metal object was embedded in a bone in her skull but surgeons decided that removal could cause more problems than it solved.

In a statement, Jones said Mr Anderson had pleaded with her not to go to the police but he was “a crazed monster” and she had pleaded for her life.

“He was grunting with every stab," she said.

"I will never have an answer as to why he did this to me.”

Sometimes, she still had pain in her head because of the embedded metal and it was being monitored and regularly checked.

Simon Rogers, defending, said the best mitigation was the guilty plea.

There had not been previous violence towards her and the plea was an indication of his acceptance of responsibility and remorse.

Mr Rogers said there had been a mental health issue, for which his family had tried to get help but none had been forthcoming.

He had admitted trying to end his life by crashing his car.

There was a different side to Anderson, a former car mechanic, and he had been described as normally caring and kind.

Judge Petts, passing sentence, said he had seen photographs of scarring that remained.

While Jones was in hospital trying to cover for him about the cause of her injuries, he was cleaning the crime scene by disposing of the knife and clearing the blood.

Scars were a daily reminder of what he did and mental scars remained, said the judge.

However, deep down, she said, she was a strong person and he hoped that, with help from family and health professionals, she would continue to recover.

The judge declared: “This was a brutal and prolonged assault on your partner at home using a weapon in a jealous rage after drinking which left her with serious injuries.

"It was an unprovoked assault and was an unpredictable one.”

Judge Petts told Anderson he would continue on licence until 14 years had elapsed.

An indefinite restraining order bans Anderson from contact with his ex-partner and he must not venture within 100 metres of her home in Old Colwyn.

Speaking after sentencing, DC Becca Southworth said: “This was a particularly vicious and violent attack, and I welcome today’s sentence.

“We take the issue of domestic violence very seriously and will thoroughly investigate all incidents of this nature.

“Today’s sentence sends a strong message that such attacks will not be tolerated, and we remain committed to ensuring that we make North Wales the safest place in the UK.”

Anyone who is a victim of domestic abuse can report it to North Wales Police by calling 101, or by visiting its online web chat at: www.northwales.police.uk/police-forces/north-wales-police/areas/live-chat.