00:00This is the moment a champion horse trainer was arrested in December 2024
00:04for attacking a dog walker who was on his land.
00:10Right, so we're here, because obviously yesterday's incident, all right.
00:15So what's going to happen, the time's currently 16.33.
00:20You're under arrest for a Section 18 GBH, OK?
00:22What does that mean?
00:23I'll explain it all after.
00:25So like I say, you're under arrest for a Section 18 GBH.
00:27You don't have to say anything, but I'm your defender.
00:28Do you not mention when questioned, so you should leave the line in court.
00:31Anything you do say may be given evidence.
00:33It says for the arrest, there's a prompt and effective investigation
00:35and prevent any harm caused by any others, OK?
00:3855-year-old Richard Evan Rees-Williams, known as Evan Williams,
00:42has been jailed for three years.
00:44He repeatedly struck 72-year-old Martin Dandridge with a hockey stick during an assault.
00:51Mr Dandridge suffered injuries, including a fractured arm,
00:54in the incident on Williams' land at Lankarvan in the Vale of Glamorgan
00:58on the evening of the 4th of December 2024.
01:03Williams denied a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent,
01:07but was convicted by a unanimous jury at Cardiff Crown Court.
01:11The judge told Williams that he had a choice on that day,
01:14to confront Mr Dandridge himself, or wait for nearby police to attend.
01:19The judge reflected on how Williams talked passionately
01:23about his champion racehorses, security and protecting his family from harm,
01:28but said that that protection should not have come at Mr Dandridge's cost.
01:33Six weeks before the assault,
01:36Williams had been disturbed by poachers on his land
01:39and was threatened with a shotgun.
01:42The judge acknowledged that the threats of violence must have been very frightening,
01:46but said it is never acceptable to take the law into your own hands,
01:50adding that this sentence will be a lesson that it is always better to call the police
01:55if you think a crime is being committed.
01:58During the trial, jurors heard Mr Dandridge and his wife
02:01had been staying at a holiday cottage near Williams' training centre.
02:05Mr Dandridge took their cockapoo Gulliver for a walk in a paddock
02:10that was part of the stables,
02:11placing torches on himself and the dog as it was dark.
02:16Williams' family spotted the lights on their land
02:19and believed Mr Dandridge was lamping,
02:21where people used bright lights to find animals such as rabbits and foxes,
02:26often with a dog.
02:28A pre-sentence report found Williams' offending was driven by heightened fear,
02:32hyper-vigilance and a distorted threat perception,
02:36and there was an unprecedented number of character references in support of him.
02:41In a victim personal statement,
02:43Mr Dandridge described the lasting impact of the assault,
02:46saying he doesn't feel like the same person he was before.
02:50Mr Dandridge told the court of how the attack had impacted his mental health,
02:54and he said he had lasting problems with his left arm and hand.
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