Man boasted ‘I’m the hardest man in Seghill’ before attacking women | UK News

A man who strangled and assaulted a woman while yelling ‘I’m the hardest man in Seghill’ has been jailed for 16 months.

Stuart McGregor, 32, brutally attacked the woman after she asked him to move his van from blocking her mum’s drive in the Northumberland village.

Tthe two women had just celebrated the daughter getting keys to her new family home with a family lunch, before returning home around 11pm on July 28.

Upon arrival, they discovered McGregor’s van blocking their drive, and when asked to move the vehicle, he said, ‘Who do you think you are, gangsters, with your eight cars?’

He then began attacking the pair, throwing punches at the daughter before turning on the mum who tried to intervene.

Prosecutor Kate Barnes said: ‘The defendant continued moving towards her and the next thing she can remember is being on the floor with the defendant on top of her, punching her to the face.’

When McGregor began strangling the woman, she described being ‘terrified and in fear for her life’.

Ms Barnes added: ‘She felt she was going to pass out as he did that. He began aggressively shouting at her, saying, “You don’t know who you are dealing with, I’m the hardest man in Seghill.”‘

McGregor also yanked the daughter’s hair, ripping out a large chunk before retreating back to his house.

In a victim impact statement, the daughter said she had never felt pain like it before in her life, and the incident will ‘affect her life moving forward’.

She said: ‘Why couldn’t he just have been civil and asked for the cars to be moved on the estate? I’m utterly shocked and saddened at the incident. I feel this has highlighted how dangerous this person is.’

Her mum added: ‘This has caused me to worry uncontrollably about my daughter, who was attacked. I hate the man responsible for the attack.’

At Newcastle Crown Court, McGregor admitted intentional strangulation and assault, causing actual bodily harm on the daughter and to common assault on the mum.

The court also heard how McGregor has mental health issues, but worked in the Seghill area as a ‘highly qualified and skilled’ hydraulic engineer.

But McGregor, who has 11 previous convictions, has now been jailed for 16 months and is banned from contacting his victims. He must also pay £1,000 in damages.

Judge Stephen Earl said: ‘It’s by luck and chance they were not more seriously injured. The defendant was out of control during the assault, which can only be described as an assault over an extended period of time.’

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