By Tony O’Reilly-
The founder and managing director of the Brighton Community Compost Centre, has been sentenced to three years and one month in prison for a vicious assault on three students who were trespassing on his business premises.
The attack from Darryl Pledge(pictured) left one victim with a broken eye socket, prompting the judge to describe it as a “nasty” and “terrifying ordeal involving the use of excessive violence.”
Pledge, 52, was convicted by a jury at Brighton Crown Court of assault causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent and two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH) after a five-day trial last month.
During the trial, prosecutor Bill Gatward revealed that Pledge used a metal rod, possibly a golf club, in an attack on two victims, Olivia Ham and Isabella Brien, as they were running away from him. Olivia Ham suffered welts and bruises on her leg.
Another victim, Joseph Read, was knocked to the floor and punched so hard that he suffered a fractured eye socket.
Gatward highlighted Pledge’s history of violence, including previous convictions for headbutting someone after a crash and assaulting two individuals when a removals lorry blocked his path.
The sentencing revealed that Pledge, who runs Sussex Waste Services and the Brighton Community Compost Centre, had a propensity for violence, as noted in a probation report.
Pledge’s defense argued that he believed there were burglars on the premises and that he felt outnumbered when encountering the students.
Recorder Claire McCann, presiding over the case, stated, “Your behaviour shows poor emotional control, use of excessive violence and aggression, and a lack of consequential thinking.
It is marked by recklessness and risk-taking.” McCann acknowledged that Pledge had reacted to intruders on his property but emphasized that it did not justify or excuse the level of violence inflicted.
Despite the defense’s arguments, McCann sentenced Pledge to three years and one month in prison for assault causing GBH with intent, and an additional four weeks for each ABH offense. The sentences will run concurrently.
Pledge’s violent reactions to situations, coupled with the seriousness of the offenses involving three victims, led the judge to assert that only custodial sentences could be justified.