A KEIGHLEY teenager has been locked-up for 12 months for attacking a man with a baton in a dispute over a cannabis debt.

Lewis Dewar was on bail for bank card fraud when he repeatedly struck Freddy Clarke with the weapon in Victoria Road, Saltaire, on June 19 last year.

Dewar, 19, of Bentley Court, Parkwood Rise, pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Clarke, thereby occasioning him actual bodily harm, and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Prosecutor Laura McBride told Bradford Crown Court yesterday that Dewar saw Mr Clarke and his brother in the street at 8.10am and challenged him about the drug debt.

Dewar pulled an old-style police baton from his trousers and swung it at Mr Clarke, hitting him on the head. He fell to the ground and Dewar struck him again, Miss McBride said.

Mr Clarke’s brother then intervened and Dewar walked off with the baton.

Mr Clarke suffered a lump to his head, grazing to his elbows and “tramline bruising” from being struck with the baton.

Dewar denied the offences but pleaded guilty on the day of his trial. He had 13 previous convictions for 18 offences, including common assault, battery, possession of a bladed article in a public place, theft and assaulting a police constable.

Miss McBride said that Dewar admitted using a stolen band card on five occasions in November, 2017. He and an accomplice netted £129 by using it at various shops in Shipley.

Dewar’s barrister, Abigail Langford, said that although there were repeated blows with the baton, no serious injuries were caused.

The teenager was still young and immature.

He had ADHD and his support worker spoke of his efforts to overcome his difficulties.

He was on bail but he was remanded in custody four months ago after failing to attend at the court until later in the day.

Miss Langford said Dewar was traumatised and distressed when his bail was withdrawn.

He was a vulnerable and naïve young man and she urged the court to draw back from sending him to immediate custody.

But Judge Neil Davey QC said he would be failing in his duty to the public if he did not send Dewar to a young offender institution. He acknowledged the teenager’s efforts to turn his life around and that his troubled background was in many ways not of his own making.

Dewar was locked-up for five months for the fraud offences and five months for possession of an offensive weapon. He received 12 months custody for the assault, all the sentences to run concurrently.