A man who punched two pregnant women in the stomach during a brazen attack.

Andrew Brown appeared at Minshull Street Crown Court on Tuesday, July 9 to be sentenced for affray, three counts of possession of an offensive weapon, one count of possession of a bladed article and one count of criminal damage, all of which he had previously pleaded guilty to.

Betsy Hindle, prosecuting, told the court that on April 18, 2019, Brown confronted his neighbour at the time on Birchinlee Avenue, Royton, acting in an abusive way due to an issue of him being evicted.

Brown, 48, accused the woman of being responsible for his eviction and after going inside, he returned with a chisel.

Another neighbour saw the situation was becoming "animated" and other family members of that household began to try and intervene, with Brown shouting and swearing at them.

Of those who intervened, two were pregnant woman, both of whom Brown punched to the face and the stomach.

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He threw the chisel at the back of one of the pregnant women, who needed hospital treatment, before going back inside, only to return with other weapons including a pen knife and a hammer, the latter which he threw at the house of the family who had intervened.

During the incident, Brown also pushed a woman to the floor.

The court heard that following the incident, Brown, of Eldon Street, Oldham, was "seriously assaulted" which resulted in him being hospitalised.

Defending, Harriet Tighe said Brown had issues with drugs and alcohol which he was trying to deal with and that he had medical issues including depression.

When passing sentence, Recorder Daniel Lister told Brown: "Fortunately for you, nobody suffered any serious injuries."

Recorder Lister said the "low point" of the incident was Brown's attacks on two pregnant women, but said Brown was somebody with "complex needs" and that he did not want to interrupt his ongoing rehabilitation.

Brown received a prison sentence of 20 months, suspended for 20 months, and was ordered to attend 15 days of rehabilitation activity requirement and pay a victim surcharge of £140.