Three attackers used claw hammer and bottle in brutal assault at Swansea flats
Three people acted "like a pack of wild animals" when they attacked a man in a block of flats, as a court has heard. Joshua Bassett, Deborah Delaney, and Jamie Davies used a claw hammer, a bottle, and boots to beat their victim, leaving him battered, bruised, and bleeding from a head wound.
A judge stated that it must be a "complete nightmare" to live in the block of flats in question, where "violence and bad behaviour is far too often deployed" - a sentiment agreed with by one of the defendants who lives in the flats.
Dean Pulling, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that in the early hours of June 24 this year, the complainant, Abiquani Hassan, went to the defendant Delaney’s home in the Griffith John Street flats in Swansea to purchase drugs.
He said Mr. Hassan posted £20 through the letterbox of the property and waited for his drugs to be pushed back through - "as was the usual procedure" - but nothing happened. Mr. Hassan then started knocking on Delaney’s door but got no response. For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter.
The court heard that shortly afterward, Delaney, accompanied by a man and a woman, came down to her floor from the floor above, and when she saw Mr. Hassan at her door, she attacked him using the glass bottle she was carrying, striking him on the head.
The prosecutor said a "melee" developed in the corridor, at which point Davies emerged from a flat with a claw hammer and used it to attack Mr. Hassan. The third defendant, Bassett, then appeared and began kicking and hitting the victim.
The prosecutor stated that someone in the corridor—it is not known who—told Mr. Hassan that he was lucky he wasn’t being stabbed, and mentioned that a racial slur was shouted at the injured man.
The bleeding victim was able to escape from the flats and fled to a friend’s house on nearby Llangyfelach Road, from where police and an ambulance were called.
Mr. Hassan was taken to the hospital, where medics found bruising, a wound to the temple, and a broken finger. Read about three ’feral’ youngsters who lured delivery drivers to a block of flats to rob them.
Delaney and Bassett were arrested shortly after the attack, while Davies was arrested on June 28. Delaney answered "no comment" to all questions asked in the interview. Bassett and Davies refused to be interviewed.
The prosecutor said that, as far as any motive for the attack was concerned, there were suggestions that Mr. Hassan had taken Delaney’s crack pipe when the pair had been at a property together several days before the assault in Griffith John Street.
Joshua Bassett, 28, of no fixed abode, Deborah Delaney, 41, of Griffith John Street, Dyfatty, Swansea, and 35-year-old Jamie Davies of Pentre Treharne Road, Landore, Swansea, had all previously pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding when they appeared in the dock via video link from prison for sentencing.
Bassett and Delaney had also previously pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon - a hammer and a bottle, respectively.
Bassett has previous convictions for 64 offences, including robbery, burglaries, thefts, drug matters, and violence.
In 2024, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison for a campaign involving 23 non-dwelling burglaries and thefts from shops across Swansea. During one theft at an Aldi store, he aggressively confronted a shop security guard and threatened to stab him.
Delaney has previous convictions for 56 offences, including assaults, public disorder, and possession of weapons. Davies has previous convictions for 42 offences, including handling stolen goods, possession of drugs with intent to supply, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Steve Burnell, for Bassett, said his client had experienced a "very bad upbringing."
David Singh, for Delaney, said while it was accepted his client instigated the violence, she thereafter played a limited part. He said it was accepted that the offending marked an escalation in seriousness and the Probation Service couldn’t offer any alternative to immediate custody.
Giles Hayes, for Davies, said it was clear from the pre-sentence report that his client was leading a chaotic lifestyle involving drug and alcohol use, which contributed to his antecedent record.
He said on the night in question, Davies saw his friend being attacked and responded in the way the court had heard.
Judge Geraint Walters told the defendants they behaved "like a pack of wild animals" when they set upon Mr. Hassan, describing it as a "barbaric" three-on-one attack. He said each of the defendants was a prolific offender whose lives were spent "aimlessly" going from one day to the next, "peppered by acts of criminality" and appearances before the courts.
Judge Walters said it must be a "complete nightmare for anyone unfortunate enough to be accommodated in the Griffith John Street flats, where violence and bad behaviour is far too often deployed." The defendant Delaney responded over the link by saying, "It is."
With one-quarter discounts for their guilty pleas, each of the defendants was sentenced to 27 months in prison for the assault. Delaney and Davies were sentenced to an additional six months in prison for the weapons offences, which will run concurrently.
The defendants will serve up to half their sentences in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
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