Salisbury man sentenced to five years and six months after planning and carrying out a serious assault

A man from Salisbury has been sentenced to five years and six months in prison for attempted GBH, possession of an offensive weapon and harassment.

Cameron MacKay, 36, of Rougemont Close, was found guilty and sentenced today at Salisbury Crown Court.

On February 26 at 9.20am MacKay seriously assaulted his victim on Pembroke Road, Bemerton Heath with crutches. This incident was witnessed by a number of people who intervened and barricaded themselves inside a pharmacy until police attended. 

MacKay was sentenced to four years for attempted GBH, nine months for possessing an offensive weapon in a public place to run concurrently and 18 months for harassment to run consecutively.

LCI Dawson said: "The victim's injuries were some of the worst I have seen. MacKay waited for his victim, who was known to him, and carried out a sustained and vicious attack. Those who saw it happened said they were frightened he was going to kill her.

"MacKay was found by the jury to have pre-planned his violent and unprovoked attack by bringing a hammer to a place he knew she would be, in order to assault her with intention of causing her serious harm.

"I would like to thank the heroic actions of the staff who were there that day, who intervened without hesitation and who, ultimately saved the victim from further, more serious harm.

"I would also like to thank the victim for their continued bravery and support throughout the investigation and extend my thanks to the witnesses who attended court to give evidence. 

“This court result shows we do not tolerate violence of any kind in our communities and will always bring those suspected of such attacks to justice while seeking to protect the public we serve from harm.”

MacKay was also sentenced to one month each to run concurrently for four counts of assaulting an emergency worker between November 2023 and February 2024.