COURT: Hen do sisters rescue man in Harrogate glass bottle attack

Two heroic sisters came to the rescue of a man being attacked with a glass bottle.

Following the Harrogate town centre incident have been commended by a Crown Court judge for their exceptional bravery.

Sisters Louise Kemp, 24, and Joanne Fox, 27, were out on Louise’s hen night when they came across a savage attack in Harrogate town centre.

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The victim was being harangued by two men, one of whom struck him in the head with a bottle. The victim was left with a split head which oozed blood.

Without a moment’s thought for their own safety, the doughty sisters put themselves in harm’s way in an attempt to stop the ferocious assault on the young man.

Louise, whose hen night was marred by the violence, walked up and struck one of the attackers while Joanne pulled him off the victim. Having broken up the attack, they called police and the emergency services.

The sisters’ heroic actions led to the attackers’ arrest. After giving the main attacker an 18-month community punishment at York Crown Court, Judge Paul Batty QC, the Recorder of York, said the two Harrogate women were deserving of a bravery award and special commendation for their outstanding acts of courage.

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They received their richly-deserved rewards on Tuesday in the presence of barristers, QCs, local clergy and high-ranking police officers in a packed courtroom at the ancient courthouse.

Mr Batty - who was flanked by Judge Guy Kearl QC and Charles Forbes-Adam, the High Sheriff of North Yorkshire - said the two women had shown extraordinary courage in confronting the two thugs near Harrogate Bus Station in the early hours of October 9 last year.

He said their intervention was all the more brave for the fact that the assault on the victim was “extremely nasty”.

Mr Batty told the court that following the attack, the sisters stayed with the victim until the arrival of emergency services, and Louise, of Crowberry Drive, used the man’s top to stem the flow of blood from his head.

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“They later gave valuable evidence to police in witness statements and picked (the attacker) out in an ID parade,” added Mr Batty.

“So many people would have walked away in an incident like that, but these two sisters didn’t and they are deserving of the highest praise.”

The High Sheriff presented the sisters with bravery awards as the assorted guests applauded their courage.

The sisters were among several local heroes who received gallantry awards for confronting serious criminals across North Yorkshire.

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