Blackpool man jailed for attacking teenage sweetheart who was helping him stay off drugs

Mark Bucher, who had a history of violence, attacked former teenage sweetheart Julie Sharp with multiple blows to the head, even though she was recovering from two strokes and a bleed on the brain.

The 52-year-old even bit her several times on the back and then knocked her unconscious after a row at the home where she was trying to help him quit drugs.

Bucher, of Ashton Road, Blackpool, was sent to prison for five years and one month by Recorder Michelle Brown at Preston Crown Court after pleading guilty to attempting to cause Miss Sharp grievous bodily harm.

She told Bucher he had subjected a vulnerable woman to a "prolonged and sustained" attack. "She had previous strokes and a bleed on the brain, yet you still punched her head repeatedly while you were standing over her on the bed.

"It is clear from what she described that it has impacted on her considerably, both physically and mentally."

The court was told that Bucher and Miss Sharp had known each other since their teenage years and they had twice been in a relationship.

Barrister Daniel Bramhall, prosecuting, said the couple had separated after Miss Sharp moved away from Blackpool, but the relationship was rekindled when she was around 30 years old. It was marred by Bucher's substance abuse and so she ended it a second time.

In 2021, as she still cared for him, she visited him after being told he was "in a bad place." The couple became friends again, with her main concern being his welfare. And she invited him to stay at her home "so he could avoid other drug users."

But she started to have health issues, including two strokes and a bleed on the brain, and their relationship deteriorated.

In January this year the couple were at home when there was an argument. As they watched a film she felt the need to get out of the house and so went to a local shop to buy some alcohol for them both.

After taking a drink from a bottle of Jack Daniels Bucher suddenly became angry and so Miss Sharp left the house to go to her daughter's. When she returned around 11pm he was at the door drunk and punched her in the face bursting her lip.

She went upstairs to get out of his way and he came into the bedroom screaming abuse at her and started punching her repeatedly, standing over her on the bed.

"He said he would make sure no-one ever looked at her again," said Mr Bramhall. "He then started to beat her. She can remember screaming to get him off her. But the punches just kept on coming.

"He was raining blow after blow on her and biting her. He was just sat there pounding her. At one stage he must have knocked her unconscious and then he went downstairs."

When Miss Sharp recovered her senses she crept downstairs, quietly opened the front door and ran off to her daughter's house where she collapsed. Her daughter found her slumped on the stairs and the emergency services were called.

When Bucher was arrested he reacted aggressively towards the police. Miss Sharp was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital where she was found to have a catalogue of injuries to her face, head, back, arm and left leg. She also had several bite marks on her back.

X-rays showed that, while the injuries looked severe, there were no broken bones. A doctor said the bruising was consistent with a serious beating.

Mr Bramhall said Bucher's record included 29 convictions for 51 offences, including two of police assault and one of battery against Miss Sharp nine years ago.

He added that Miss Sharp's strokes and brain bleed had meant she had lost a lot of her sight. She suffered from long-term and short-term memory loss and was now registered blind. She had also suffered from epilepsy since birth.

In a victim statement she said that the level of violence Bucher had shown her had had a lasting effect on her mental health. It had affected her sleeping and she was having flashbacks and nightmares over the attack.

She added she was "absolutely terrified of the day he gets out of prison." "Mark knew about my previous brain bleed, but still he directed punches at my forehead and head. I don't think the scars will ever go." She said she had moved from her home because she no longer felt safe.           

Defence barrister Anthony Parkinson said Bucher had shown "genuine remorse and shame" at his behaviour that night. "He appears genuinely shocked by the level on injuries he caused the victim."

Mr Parkinson accepted the attack must have had some effect physically and psychologically on Miss Sharp. But he revealed Bucher had been having chemotherapy and surgery for lung cancer while on remand in prison.

Recorder Brown said Miss Sharp had allowed Bucher to live with her in a bid to help him. She told Bucher: "Out of concern for you she allowed you to stay with her.

"Her mental health has taken a step back. She was particularly vulnerable because of her ill health. The attack was prolonged and sustained. You used your teeth, which is a particularly unpleasant part of your assault."

She imposed an indefinite restraining order preventing Bucher from contacting Miss Sharp in any way.