William Doyle, 51, has avoided jail for attacking his sister
Stock image of a woman(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A thug who guzzled eight cans of Stella before knocking his sister unconscious with a metal pole has walked free from court.
William Doyle became ‘angry’ with his sibling after she forgot to get him something for his birthday.
The 51-year-old lashed out at her with the 1m pole after a ‘pleasant’ evening together took a turn for the worse.
He quickly dialled 999 for help, telling medics he had hit her and thought she may be dead.
Despite her recovery, the relationship between the siblings remains fractured, with Doyle’s sister admitting “I feel like I have lost a brother”.
The defendant has now been told he cannot get in touch with his sister for the next five years after she asked prosecutors for a restraining order against him.
READ MORE: Major court update after chef’s body found in abandoned Midlands building
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how Doyle picked up his older sister and drove her back to his house in Lower Gornal for an evening of ‘cards and drinks’ on April 28, 2024.
Doyle was upset with his sister that she had not given him anything for his birthday, prosecutor Dean Easthope said.
He ‘had a lot to drink’ that night and continued to drink into the early hours of the morning.
An argument between the siblings started at 3.30am, with Doyle grabbing a hollow metal pole and hitting his sister on the head.
The victim was left with swelling and fell unconscious for a ‘short period of time’, Mr Easthope said.
Doyle called for paramedics, admitting ‘he knocked his sister out’ and that he thought he had killed her.
In his interview with police, Doyle said he drank eight to 10 cans of Stella lager that night.
In a statement read to the court, the victim said she feels ‘grief’, adding; “I feel like I have lost a brother.”
She said she now does not want anything to do with her brother and she cannot trust him any longer.
Doyle’s sister requested that the court hand her brother a restraining order banning contact with her.
In a basis of plea – which was not accepted by the Crown but was ‘not sought to be litigated’ – Doyle said his sister had been ‘threatening’ towards him.
Doyle said he used a metal pole to strike her to the head once but accepted this was an ‘overreaction’ and ‘beyond excessive self-defence’.
Doyle had 19 convictions for 31 offences between 1997 and 2018 but none for violence.
Previous crimes included being drunk and disorderly, failing to comply with orders and criminal damage.
His criminal record has ‘the hallmarks of someone who commits offences in excess drink’, Mr Easthope said.
Timothy Sapwell, defending, said: “This case is a great shame because the defendant, as a result of his actions, has basically lost his sister.
“He accepts that their relationship is over and the restraining order can be made.”
Doyle is currently on benefits but hopes to get back into work, Mr Sapwell added.
Sentencing, Recorder Michael Duck KC said: “The facts of the case are sad and serious in equal measure.”
He added: “Unfortunately, and no doubt as a consequence of the staggering amount of alcohol you drank that night, you became angry.”
Doyle had been out of trouble ‘for some period of time’, Recorder Duck said.
He went on: “You are somebody who does not cope well with alcohol.
“Alcohol features in almost every one of your [previous] offences.”
But he said there was an ‘opportunity’ for the defendant to address his ‘drinking behaviour’ which has ‘blighted his life’.
Doyle admitted wounding/inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent.
He was handed a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, with s 55-day rehabilitation activity requirement on Thursday, December 11.
Recorder Duck told Doyle: “You have been given an opportunity to keep yourself out of trouble and demonstrate that you are able to do so and that you are good to your word that you can get yourself into employment.”
Doyle, of Parkhouse Gardens, Lower Gornal, was made subject to a five-year restraining order.
Don’t miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the BirminghamLive newsletter here.