A LANCASTER man who coshed a teenage girl over the head with a heavy stone concealed inside a sock has been jailed for 14 years.

Stephen Barlow attacked 13-year-old schoolgirl Emma Crane as she walked home from a friend's home in Lancaster on March 31 this year.

He rode up behind her on his bicycle and struck her with three hard blows to the head with the cosh, causing deep lacerations which extended down to the bone.

Preston Crown Court was told Barlow, 36, had previous convictions for attacks on young women which followed a similar pattern.

Judge Brian Duckworth told him a longer than normal sentence was appropriate as the need to protect the public from him was paramount.

The Judge said: "This little girl was making her way home in a perfectly normal way when she was the blameless victim of an utterly wicked and mindless attack."

Barlow, of New Street, Halton, Lancaster, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The court heard Emma was walking in Green Aire off Parliament Street, when she was attacked.

Bernard Lever, prosecuting, said: "She heard a bicycle behind her and the next thing she knew she felt the pain in her head and she was on the floor.

"What had occurred is that this defendant had wrapped a large stone in a sock.

He struck her three times on the head with this blunt object causing serious and deep lacerations to the scalp which went all the way down to the bone."

When Emma was on the floor, Barlow got off his bike and sat on her back. She screamed for help and he hit her about ten times with his hand.

"Mercifully two members of the public who were in the vicinity heard her screams and they approached," Mr Lever told the court.

Barlow then got back on his bike and rode off.

He fled to Yorkshire but was traced through telephone calls he made to his wife.

Mr Lever said: "This was an extremely worrying and well planned attack on the young girl, on a quiet Sunday night for absolutely no reason at all."

Barlow had previous convictions going back to 1980 for attempted rape, indecent assault and assault causing actual bodily harm.

In May 1988 at Chester Crown Court, he had been given the maximum five year sentence for assault after attacking a young woman.

Alistair Webster, QC, defending said Barlow had shown remorse for the attack which took place just few days after his wife left home with their daughter.

"He had a complete breakdown was not sleeping properly and was drinking heavily," said Mr Webster.

Barlow maintained he had no recollection of the actual attack until it was nearly completed, added Mr Webster.

Det Const Paula Wilkinson said afterwards: "The sentence reflected the serious nature of the attack. Stephen Barlow is a very dangerous man who we hope will receive the necessary treatment so this doesn't happen again."

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