Mum jailed for "gratuitous" train bottle attacks (From Thurrock Gazette)

Mum jailed for "gratuitous" train bottle attacks

3:30pm Wednesday 4th April 2012 in News

A PREGNANT teenage mother wept in the dock as she was locked up for 18 months after violently bottling two passengers on a train.

Abbey Hodder, 18, from South Ockendon, was drunk when she launched unprovoked attacks, causing grievious bodily harm to two men, during a late night train travelling from Southend to London.

Her accomplice, Trevor Summers, 28, of Cliff Place, South Ockendon, was jailed for 18 months for his part in one of the assaults.

Jamas Hodivala, prosecuting, told Basildon Crown Court on Friday how Adam Carter, 28, boarded the 10.20pm train at Southend Central station on September 10, 2010, and mother-of-two Hodder, who was 17 at the time, sat next to him.

Hodder, of Pear Tree Close, began swinging a bottle of Smirnoff vodka at his head, hitting him four times.

Mr Carter, a teacher, left the carriage and walked towards a door, hoping to escape when the train stopped – but Hodder, Summers and two unidentified men followed him.

Hodder hit him with a bottle for between 30 and 60 seconds, while Summers stood by and allowed the attack to happen.

Mr Hodivala said: “Mr Carter described to police being hit by this girl relentlessly and can remember hollow sounds of the bottle.”

During the attack, Mr Carter fractured his ankle in two places as he stumbled and managed to hobble off when the train stopped at Chalkwell, where he called police.

Hodder continued on the train to East Tilbury, where Zaheer Shah boarded with friends.

The court heard Hodder and other men, but not Summers, punched, kicked and swung a bottle at Mr Shah, who told police he was scared for his life.

Mr Shah suffered multiple cuts to his eye, shoulder and elbow and needed surgery.

Hodder, who had no previous convictions for violence, cried as Judge David Owen-Jones told she would be separated from her two children and give birth to her third child in a young offenders’ instutition.

David Batcup, mitigating for Hodder, said the attacks were “completely out of character”.

Police welcomed the sentences handed out and commended the victims’ bravery.

Det Con Mark Tabbron, of British Transport Police, described the incident as a “night of gratuitous violence”.

He said: “I welcome the sentence and would like to extend my thanks to the victims, who have all shown commendable bravery.”