Man, 33, attacked friend in Cambridge with metal pole in ‘savage attack’

A drug user who attacked his friend with a metal pole at an address in Cambridge he had been allowed to stay in as a kind gesture has been jailed.

Thomas McKellar, 33, and the victim were at the house of multiple occupancy (HMO) on 10 December when the assault took place.

The victim had allowed McKellar, of no fixed address, to stay with him until he had found his own place. Both men had finished work and begun drinking and taking Ketamine.

It is not known exactly what happened, but McKellar admitted assaulting his friend with a metal police, leaving him with a fractured nose, a fractured rib and a large cut to his head which had to be glued.

McKellar handed himself in at Parkside Police Station on Christmas Day. Officers found a knuckle duster and a joint of cannabis among his belongings at the scene of the attack.

McKellar pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), possessing cannabis and possessing an offensive weapon and was jailed for one year and one month at Peterborough Crown Court on Friday (28 February).

Detective Sergeant Dominic Carminati said: “This was a savage attack in which McKellar targeted his own friend who had done him a favour by allowing him to stay in his home when he was down on his luck.

“I hope McKellar’s time behind bars allows him to reflect on his behaviour and gives some level of closure for his victim.”