12 March 2024 , 10:13
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A mother-of-two has been left permanently blind in one eye after her jealous boyfriend smashed a pub window, showering her with glass.
She suffered "catastrophic" and "horrific" eye injuries and had "permanent facial disfigurement" after Cameron Farmer forcefully punched and broke a window from the outside while she was standing inside the pub in Hull city centre. Farmer was raging that she was not with him during a night out and he worked himself up into a "fury" before suddenly smashing the window, Hull Crown Court heard.
Farmer, 21, of the Cumbrian Way area of Bransholme, Hull, admitted an offence of wounding the woman and another of causing criminal damage on July 30, MEN Media reports. He pleaded guilty very late, not long before a scheduled trial. Michael Greenhalgh, prosecuting, said that Farmer and the woman had been in a relationship, but Farmer had a temper and there had been a lot of incidents.
She arranged to go out with her brother in Hull, but Farmer invited himself and they went to the Star pub. The girlfriend and her brother wanted to go somewhere else without Farmer and they left him in the Star with a mutual friend. "The defendant became resentful and, indeed, jealous of the victim going elsewhere, suggesting that she was trying to find another man to be with," said Mr Greenhalgh. Text messages were exchanged between them.
She was in the Hull Cheese pub in Paragon Street, where Farmer was banned because of a previous incident when he was working as staff member there. Farmer looked "angry and agitated' and he was shouting aggressively into his phone – causing concern to a passer-by.
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The woman was standing in Hull Cheese when she saw Farmer walking by. She knocked on the window to attract his attention and she put up a finger to indicate that she would be out in a minute. Farmer punched the window hard and with such force that the glass shattered and pieces were showered over her. The consequences for her had been "catastrophic" and she suffered serious injuries and "permanent facial disfigurement".
Cameron Farmer smashed a window at the Hull Cheese pub, showering his girlfriend with glass and leaving her blind in one eye (HullLive/MEN Media)A complete cut was caused to the thickness of an eyelid and glass went into her left eye, cutting and damaging her eyeball and retina. The woman lost the sight in that eye and she had been told that she might lose her vision in her other eye because of the injury and the functioning eye having to over-compensate.
Farmer ran from the scene, but he was detained by police. He claimed that the incident was an accident. The woman said in a statement that she later had three more operations on her left eye in an attempt to gain some sight. "However, these have been unsuccessful," said Mr Greenhalgh. "She is now permanently blind in her left eye." The news that none of the surgery had worked was "devastating" to her and she had been told that her functioning eye might give up, leaving her completely blind.
"This news has caused me a lot of distress and anxiety and I worry about my future and my children's future," she said. The woman had suffered from a lot of headaches and everyday tasks had become more difficult. She was anxious in public places because she could be unaware of people on her left side. Oliver Shipley, mitigating, said that Farmer accepted that he used sufficient force on the window for it to break. "There was no intention to cause the injury that has been caused," said Mr Shipley. Farmer's girlfriend tapped on the window to attract his attention and he raised both hands in the air and then shattered what seemed to have been single-glazed glass.
"He can't express how sorry he is for all of this," said Mr Shipley. At the time, Farmer was looking for his girlfriend. He ran off, but he was detained by the police and immediately told them that he would pay for the damaged window. "He was arrested and it was only during interview that he learned of the extremely serious injuries that the complainant has suffered," said Mr Shipley.
"He would never have wished this upon her in a million years. He has to live with the consequences and the constant reminder and he has to accept full responsibility for those injuries. There were other people near the window who were not injured, thankfully. He admits that he has, in the past, had issues with drugs in a social setting. This offence has had a profound effect upon him. What was meant to be a happy night has taken a slight turn.
"This defendant would in no way have acted in a way which would intentionally have brought about this injury." Judge Alexander Menary said that Farmer worked himself into "quite a state" in the absence of his girlfriend because of his "paranoia and jealousy" and he was walking up and down in the street, shouting aggressively into his phone.
He was "angry and agitated" when he walked past the pub. He punched the window with such force that it shattered where she was standing just behind it. "It must have required some force to do that," said Judge Menary. "This is an incident that was over in seconds. Your reaction was one of shock. You then ran off. The consequences of the window breaking were catastrophic for your victim. The injuries are horrific.
"She still suffers with significant facial disfigurement and is likely to do so for the rest of her life. She has now been informed that she has been blinded in that eye. There was no intention here to cause this injury. You are fortunate that this poor woman was not blinded entirely by what you did as a result of your anger and working yourself up into a fury during those messages.
"This is a particularly grave injury. It's a permanent, irreversible injury that will have a substantial long-term impact on her day-to-day life. It's as bad as it gets for this type of offence. There have been devastating ongoing effects on this victim." Farmer was jailed for three years and he was given a 10-year restraining order.
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