Clacton Tesco attack saw 'protective' dad break victim's nose

The “red mist” descended on Ben Horst, 38, after he met his victim outside a Tesco store in Clacton to purchase cannabis from him.

By coincidence, the dealer was the brother of a man Horst had confronted over the treatment of his son.

At Chelmsford Crown Court, Recorder Angela Frost said: “The dealer you met on that occasion was the brother of the individual you’d had an altercation with regarding your son and his girlfriend.

“During the course of that meeting to exchange money for drugs your son appeared.

“The victim recognised your son as being his niece’s boyfriend and therefore recognised you as being the one who had been involved in the previous confrontation.”

More from the courts: Man jailed for three years after running drugs line

The court heard Horst told the victim he “wanted his brother down there so they could sort things out”, but the dealer was “dismissive”.

Ms Frost added: “This angered you and you lay in wait for him when he came out of the shop.

“When he finished his shopping, you attacked him in the store with the knuckleduster, and you admit that this was because you knew or thought the victim and his brother were known to carry weapons.”

Ben Horst (Image: Essex Police)

The court heard the attack was “revenge, to a degree” for an attack on Horst’s son.

The victim suffered a broken nose, swelling around his eye and a lacerated spleen, spending five days in hospital.

But Ms Frost accepted Horst, despite previous convictions for violence, had “kept himself on the straight and narrow” for around ten years.

She said the attack was motivated by protecting his family.

“You’ve established yourself as a family man, clearly a man who protects his family,” she said.

“On this occasion [you] protected [your] family at significant cost, not only to the victim, but to your family and yourself.”

She said Horst had shown remorse and had shown “progress and dedication” while in prison awaiting sentence.

“It is not very often that this court sees references such as you have from a particular position of authority within the kitchen,” she said.

“I know those jobs are not easy to come by, they are highly sought after positions within the prison.

“You have managed not only to obtain yourself one of those positions, but you ensure you work diligently and are a positive role model to other prisoners within the kitchen environment.

“I also take into account this was, whilst there was pre-meditation involved, a red mist descending and this is not your normal day-to-day demeanour.

“But it does show you have a deficit in the way in which you process information and the way in which you deal with your emotions. On this occasion it got the better of you.”

Horst, of Flatford Drive, Clacton, admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon.

He was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter

For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here. You can also sign up to our court and crime newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on gazette.newsdesk@newsquest.com.