Jail for Staines man who attacked neighbour with a hammer

A man who attacked his elderly neighbour with a hammer and smashed car windscreens and and windows of several houses in Staines-upon-Thames in August 2022 was jailed for five and a half years at Guildford Crown Court yesterday (6 February).

Frederick Livermore, 56, (DOB 14/2/1967) of Bingham Drive, Staines-upon-Thames, was found guilty of one charge of causing grievous bodily harm after attacking his elderly neighbour with a hammer and leaving him with a fractured skull following an earlier hearing in November 2023.

Livermore also pleaded guilty to eight counts of criminal damage after smashing the windscreens of a number of vehicles and smashing a number of windows of properties in Bingham Drive and Monks Way on the morning of 24 August 2022.

He was found not guilty of two further charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and threats to kill.

The court heard how police received the first of multiple calls around 5.19am reporting a man brandishing an implement and smashing vehicle windscreens and the windows of residential premises. 

The neighbour tried to intervene and was attacked with a claw hammer sustaining multiple injuries, including a fractured skull.

Officers attended the location and found that Livermore had barricaded himself into his home address.  This resulted in a stand-off with police for around five hours, including the deployment of a police negotiator, before he was arrested.

Following his arrest, he was charged and remanded in custody and has already served 17 months in prison.

Detective Constable Michael Bambrough, who investigated the case, said: “Livermore was found to have been suffering from psychosis triggered by consumption of controlled drugs on the morning he went on the rampage, smashing up car windscreens and windows of homes along the way, and then attacking his elderly neighbour with a hammer when he tried to intervene.

“His behaviour that day would have been terrifying for all those who were directly affected by it, as well as those who witnessed it. People need to not only be safe but feel safe within their communities and Livermore took that right away from them that day.

“The outcome in court yesterday has ensured that he will no longer be a threat to his neighbours and demonstrates our commitment to tackling those who behave in this way – it is simply not acceptable.”