A couple have been jailed after a knife attack on the woman’s ex-partner on St Helen’s Road early on a summer morning.
Craig Godfrey, 36, left the man with a 6 to 7cm cut to the left side of his neck, Swansea Crown Court heard on Monday.
Michaela Nicholls, 34, was carrying a dog chain during the attack. Both admitted wounding with intent.
Godfrey, from Waun Wen, was given an extended sentence of six years in prison, with a further four years on extended licence.
Nicholls, from Ystradgynlais, was jailed for five and a half years in total, a sentence that also covers a string of burglary offences in Swansea less than three weeks later.
CCTV shows St Helen’s Road fight as traffic tries to get past
Godfrey and Nicholls were walking near the YMCA shortly after 6am on Thursday 13 August when they came across her former partner, the court heard.
Godfrey had a knife in his hand. A row broke out, and the other man threw a punch at Godfrey before Nicholls urged Godfrey to hit back, the court was told.
CCTV played in court showed the two men fighting, moving between the pavement and the middle of the road as traffic and people on foot tried to get round them.
The man at first thought he had been punched. Then he saw how much blood was on his clothes.
He has been left with a visible scar and no feeling in the left side of his face, the prosecution said, and has since been diagnosed with PTSD.
Police closed the road in both directions that morning. Godfrey swore at officers when he was arrested later that day, the court heard.
He appeared before Swansea magistrates the following day.
‘Significant criminal history’: what the court heard about Godfrey and Nicholls
Godfrey, described in court as having a “significant criminal history”, also admitted having a bladed article. Nicholls admitted having an offensive weapon.
His barrister said alcohol misuse and some mental health problems had contributed to what he did that day.
Nicholls’ barrister said she had been drinking heavily this year and “bitterly regrets her behaviour”.
The Midland Place burglary: Nicholls and Gary Robertson
In the separate case, Nicholls and Gary Robertson, 51, from Bonymaen, carried out a run of offences on the morning of 1 September.
One involved stealing car keys from a home in Midland Place and then taking items from a car parked outside, the court heard.
Both admitted three attempted burglaries, a burglary and a theft. Robertson was jailed for three years.
‘Incredibly fortunate that the victim was not killed’
South Wales Police Detective Inspector Thomas Richardson said: “This was a shocking attack which took place on a summer morning, during which lots of people would have been starting their work days on St Helen’s Road.”
He added: “It is incredibly fortunate that the victim was not killed.”
He described Godfrey as “an incredibly dangerous man who sought to cause as much damage as possible to the victim”, and said Nicholls “also played a significant part in the attack”.
He said: “These heavy sentences are no less than both of them deserve.”
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