Staff and customers at the Gala Bingo club in Fenton, Staffordshire must have thought that an episode of Channel 4’s Shameless was being filmed in their local bingo club. The married couple convicted of the cowardly attack on a cancer patient have been given custodial sentences.

Leona Gilson, who is expecting to give birth in just two week, and Stephen Simcock who is now her husband carried out a hate campaign on Jeffrey Lear, who was in a relationship with the mother of Leona. It was claimed in the Crown Court in Stoke-on-Trent that Mr Lear had been sent threatening text messages from 25 year old Leona on November 25th.

While at the Gala Bingo club the following day he received a phone call for his brother-in-law to advise him that a group including Leona Gilson had been looking for him. The prosecution claimed that: "This caused him enough alarm to call the police. He went into the foyer to call the non-emergency number.

"As he was making the call both defendants attacked him, Gilson first and then Simcock.

"Gilson pushed him in the back, punched him, then kicked him in the stomach area.

"Simcock punched the victim to the head while holding his car keys in his hand, causing cuts to his face.

"The attack left Mr Lear with some quite serious injuries."

The court heard Mr Lear sustained bruising to his thigh, causing compartment syndrome, which can lead to the death of tissue in the body.

Mr Lear has had to have three operations to avoid having the leg removed and still has to use crutches when he walks.

Simcock, aged 37 and Gilson, were charged with Causing Grievous Bodily Harm. Both pleaded guilty prior to the trial. Stuart Muldoon representing Gilson claimed: "There was an element of pre-meditation in terms of confrontation, but she did not expect it to go that far.

"She was concerned about her mother being a victim of domestic violence.

"Miss Gilson has a three-year-old daughter, and if both defendants are sent to custody she will have to go into the care of her grandparents, and their accommodation will be lost."

Nichoolas Tatlow who was representing Mr Simcock claimed his client, a plumber by trade, had not planned to use the keys as a weapon. As the couple had just got out of a car the keys were still in his hand.

Judge Paul Glenn told the couple: "This was a very unpleasant incident in a public place.

"The two of you had no reason at all to behave as you did, whatever was going on in the relationship between Mr Lear and his partner.

"He wasn't a man in good health, he was recovering from cancer and he sustained quite unpleasant injuries."

Stephen Simcock was sentencd to 30 weeks in prison and Leona Gilson received a 24 week sentence.