Dangerous man who attempted to murder toddler in Blackpool jailed for 30 years

Lewis Prince subjected the boy to a “sickening and repeated assault” at a home in Blackpool on December 7, 2022.

A jury at Preston Crown Court heard the 29-year-old strangled, smothered, slapped and punched the boy, with part of the attack captured on film.

The child was taken to hospital with extensive bruising to his face and throat, and medics found he was in the penultimate stage of asphyxia.

Prince fled the address before officers arrived but he was later arrested in a car travelling towards Manchester.

He denied any wrongdoing as he was interviewed by detectives.

Prince, of Browning Road, Swinton, was charged with attempted murder and assault by beating following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.

During the trial Prince accepted he lied in his police interview, and said he had slapped the toddler in the face and squeezed his cheeks in an attempt to stop him crying.

But he denied attempted murder, claiming he had neither strangled nor smothered the victim.

The jury rejected that notion and took around an hour to find Prince unanimously guilty.

He had already pleaded guilty to an assault by beating charge, which related to an assault on a woman.

Sitting at Preston Crown Court on Thursday, August 3, Judge Robert Altham, The Recorder of Preston, jailed Prince for 26 years.

He also deemed Prince to be a dangerous offender and imposed a further four-year extended licence period.

Det Sgt Isobel Garratt, of West CID, said: “Prince’s sickening attack could quite easily have resulted in the victim losing his life.

“Fortunately, he has since made a full recovery but anyone who watched the harrowing footage of the assault will know that the outcome could quite easily have been different.

“I cannot imagine what the victim’s mother went through having to watch the footage both at the time and then re-live it during the trial.

She added: “I would like to take this chance to praise her for the bravery she has shown throughout this process. I know Prince’s abhorrent crime committed against her defenceless child continues to have a profound impact on her.

“I welcome the sentence handed down today, which reflects the serious nature of Prince’s crime and the dangerousness he poses.

“Finally I want to praise the professionalism of all my colleagues who worked on this case, from the officers who were first called to the scene, to the detectives, uniformed colleagues and police staff who worked on compiling the evidence that brought Prince before the courts and got justice for the victim and his loved ones.”