Eight thugs who split boy's head open with machete dodge jail

Eight teenagers who brutally attacked another teen with a machete, axe and a golf club have been handed community sentences. Tom Hilton, who was 17 at the time of the attack, suffered a head injury so serious his skull was exposed, and wounds to his shoulders and legs in the attack close to the Old Paper Mill in Hermitage Street, Rishton, in August 2021, reports LancsLive. Preston Crown Court heard Mr Hilton had gone to the mill - a popular meeting place for local teens - to look for a teenage girl. However, as he arrived he was chased by a group of boys he later described as "like a pack of gorillas." He ran through the woods and onto the road, where the gang caught up with him, the court heard. At the time, around 50 young people were in the area, and as the gang of eight surrounded Mr Hilton, each either attacked him directly with weapons or fists or encouraged the others. Judge Philip Parry said they acted together. Throughout a trial at Preston Crown Court, all eight laughed and j...