Leeds thug beat his own sister unconscious after she 'b***h-slapped' him

Christopher Ledger and his sibling enjoyed a close relationship but it turned sour on December 14 last year when they had both been drinking, Leeds Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Amy Levitt said Ledger then asked the woman to hit him, but she was reluctant. She eventually did to appease him. When they returned to her flat a short time later his mood changed and he accused her of "bitch slapping" him.

He then picked up the metal bed-frame pole and struck her to the body and legs. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the floor before stamping on her back.

She tried to run but he grabbed a knife and dragged he to the floor again. She then had to trick him to get him out of the flat, saying she had left money on the landing area for him. When he went out she locked the door behind him. He was heard screaming at her through the door.

The next evening she returned from her friend's and Ledger was waiting for her in the flat. He punched her to the face knocking her unconscious. When she came round she had a TV cabinet on top of her, Miss Levitt said.

She suffered swelling to her eye, a cut to her finger and pain to her back. In a victim impact statement she said felt "totally devastated" by what happened.

Following his arrest, 42-year-old Ledger, of Eastdean Gardens, Seacroft, denied attacking his sister and said the injuries must have been her falling from being drunk.

Sign up for our free newsletters now

He later admitted two counts of ABH. He has 15 previous convictions for 27 offences, including violence and possession of a knife, for which he was jailed for 21 months.

A worrying probation report suggested he took "zero responsibility" for his actions, despite pleading guilty. The father-of-five said he had been taking Pregabalin, but said it was laced with the synthetic opioid chemical, fentanyl.

Mitigating, Stuart Field said: "It's clear he was under the influence of something at the time. It perhaps puts into context and explains his state of mind at the time."

Judge Tom Bayliss KC jailed him for 18 months: "You were not only her brother but like a best friend. But you can't do this to somebody, you have to learn.

"Previous prison sentences have not brought that home to you. There are consequences. You find it difficult to accept what you have done, but you have a bad record for violence."