Pensioner who punched his daughter in drunken attack gets curfew - but claims he's the victim
A pensioner who punched his daughter in the face in a drunken attack before complaining to a court "I'm the victim here" has been ordered to do unpaid work and wear a curfew tag.
Anthony McBride, who is 71, refused to accept any responsibility for the serious assault on his daughter, Laura McBride, save for admitting he was an "idiot" for mixing his drinks and consuming as much as he had on the day of the assault.
He denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm but was found guilty on January 12 this year after a trial, and summoned to Telford Magistrates Court on Wednesday to be sentenced.
The attack happened in the early hours of October 25, 2020, at the victim's house in Ellesmere after a family gathering the previous night.
McBride, of Charlotte Street in Leamington Spa, was staying with his daughter in Shropshire at the time, the court heard.
Prosecuting, Mrs Joanne Fox said: "The defendant had made arrangements to stay at [his daughter's] home due to a family gathering.
"At 5pm on October 24 they met at a pub and had some drinks, before then meeting for a meal elsewhere.
"They all resided close to one another and walked home, they were intoxicated."
Soon after midnight, when McBride and his daughter were in the living room of her home, the latter was on the phone to a friend and mentioned that her father was intoxicated.
"Laura McBride had been on the telephone with her friend while Anthony McBride was on the sofa," said Mrs Fox. "Laura made reference to her father being intoxicated which upset him."
McBride began insulting his daughter and her friend, at which point his daughter put the phone down and told him to get out.
"There was a verbal altercation, Mr McBride pushed his daughter causing her to fall backwards into the living room... he punched her a number of times throughout the incident," Mrs Fox said.
As a result of the punches Laura McBride suffered a bloody nose, bruises and reddening to the bridge of her nose, the court was told.
A statement made by Laura McBride last summer and read out to the court said that the attack by her father continued to have an impact on her mental health and her relationships with others.
Anthony McBride, who represented himself in court, complained to the magistrates: "I'm the victim here".
He complained that he had travelled a long way and played golf earlier on the day of the attack, and that he was "exhausted".
He refused to accept he had carried out the attack despite his conviction, and said his daughter was telling "lies" about him.
The chair of the magistrates bench, Mr Alan Parkhurst, said: "Actual bodily harm is a very serious offence and that is what you have been found guilty of."
Magistrates handed down a community order to last two years, including a curfew between 7pm and 7am for three months, 150 hours of unpaid work and 10 rehabilitation activity days.
They also made a restraining order against McBride banning him from contacting his daughter, and told him to pay compensation of £200, costs of £650 and a surcharge of £95.
