Man caught on camera savagely beating girlfriend in broad daylight jailed

A man who brutally attacked his girlfriend in the middle of the street, leaving her with devastating injuries, has been jailed after the horrifying incident was caught on a doorbell camera.

Thomas Jennings, 30, launched the violent assault on Harbreck Grove in Aintree, Merseyside, at around 11:15am on March 31. Footage showed Jennings ordering his partner to “get in the car” as she screamed for him to stop. Instead of backing off, he rained punches on her before dragging her to the ground and delivering a savage kick to her head, reports the Liverpool Echo.

The victim was knocked unconscious and later found to have a fractured jaw and broken eye socket. She needed surgery and has been left with long-term problems with her vision. Jennings, of no fixed address but originally from Walton, abandoned her lying motionless in the road and stormed off. As he walked away, he threatened to burn down the house of a stranger who had witnessed the assault.

The shocking attack, described in court as “cowardly” and “chilling,” sparked outrage after footage from the Ring doorbell camera circulated on social media. Members of the public rushed to help the woman before she was taken to Aintree Hospital’s A&E, covered in blood and barely conscious.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how Jennings not only attacked his partner, Paula Ricardson, but also threatened bystander Helen Noble, warning: “If you filmed me, I’ll f burn your house down.” Prosecutor Ken Grant said the assault was carried out in broad daylight without any hesitation, leaving residents horrified.

Jennings’s record revealed a long history of offending. He had 36 previous convictions for 64 offences, including drug dealing, domestic violence and firearms crimes. In 2014 he was jailed for nearly three years for possession of class A drugs with intent to supply. In 2018 he received 16 months for a domestic assault, and in 2020 he was given more than seven years for firearms offences.

His defence barrister, Julian Nutter, told the court Jennings had been struggling with mental health problems for years, possibly linked to drug use. Nutter claimed his client was “deeply ashamed” and had shown remorse for the first time, offering an apology to his victim. “What he asked me to do is to repeat his apology, and that is the start of a very long path,” he said.

Recorder Mark Bradshaw dismissed any excuses and condemned the attack. He told Jennings: “This incident happened in the street in broad daylight. The footage we have all seen is, frankly, chilling… It was, in my judgement, a cowardly attack.”

Jennings admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and was sentenced to four years in prison, with an extended licence period of three years after his release.