Man and woman sentenced in court after name-calling leads to Northampton street brawl

A man and woman from Northampton have been sentenced to a 12 month community order after attacking a woman in their street, following an argument.

David Bosworth, aged 55, and Tracy Townsend, aged 38, both of Park Drive, appeared together at Northampton Crown Court on Wednesday, January 18 after pleading guilty to common assault.

The court heard that a woman was visiting a friend’s flat in Park Drive on May 28, 2021 at around 9.30pm when she heard Townsend shouting verbal abuse at her from across the street, calling her names like “fat cow.”

Laura Blackband, prosecuting, said the woman went to confront Townsend, who ran towards the woman and punched her twice causing her to fall to the floor.

Townsend and Bosworth then kicked the victim on the ground repeatedly, which was witnessed by a number of individuals. The victim was left with bruising and a swollen left eye.

The victim was taken to hospital but, following a further incident there, she was asked to leave. The nature of the incident was not specified in court.

Townsend and Bosworth were both arrested and taken to the police station. In interview, Townsend alleged that she acted in self defence after the victim, who had been drinking, called her a “crackhead” and grabbed her. Townsend said that the victim’s injuries resulted from her attempting to throw a punch, missing and then falling to the ground. She claimed that Bosworth was never involved.

Bosworth gave a no comment interview to the police but provided a pre-prepared statement claiming that Townsend acted in self defence after being grabbed by the neck and no one was kicked.

Ms Blackband told the court that Townsend has a “long list” of previous convictions, including affray, dishonesty and drugs offences, assaulting police constables and failure to comply with court orders.

Bosworth has 34 previous convictions for 162 offences, which are mostly dishonesty-related crimes.

Beverley Da Costa, defending Towsend, said she has a number of physical and mental health issues that require to attend hospital regularly.

Chiara Maddocks, defending Bosworth, said that he is “mentally impaired” and he has struggled with drink and drug issues in the past, which may have resulted in most of his previous convictions - particularly the drug-related offences.

Ms Maddocks said: “He is a man with his own vulnerabilities. He told me that he was with Townsend, who become sucked into a situation with the victim and he unwisely became involved.”

The court heard that Bosworth was keen to stress that he has a dog at home and he lives in a council-owned property so a prison sentence might interfere with his accommodation.

Ms Maddocks added: “He was very upset when I suggested any period of time away from his dog.”

Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane, addressing both defendants, said: “You both maintained not guilty pleas and denied responsibility right up until the day of the trial.”

Townsend and Bosworth were both sentenced to a 12 month community order with 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days.