March 2016 Man spared jail over ‘cowardly attack’ on partner’s young children   A thug who launched a “cowardly” attack on his partner’s young children as they got ready for bed and who broke his partner’s nose and left her partially blind in a sickening domestic violence attack has walked free from court. Barton, 31, of Bransholme punched his then partner’s daughter in the head, and appeared to be about to kick her when her mother “launched” herself between them He then attacked the mother, breaking her nose and causing lasting injuries and memory loss. Barton then dragged the girl by the hair and grabbed her brother by the neck. Ricky Barton’s shocking assault on Joanne Clinton was only ended when one of her children phoned police to say ‘he is trying to kill my mummy’. The court heard that the woman’s former partner hit him over the head with a golf club, fracturing his skull, after learning of the attack. He spent four days in hospital Miss Clinton has now hit out at the justice system after Barton was freed on a suspended sentence despite admitting two common assaults on her children and causing her actual bodily harm. Hull Crown Court heard mother-of-four Miss Clinton was trying to stop Barton from beating up her young daughter. But when she grabbed his shoulders to try to stop him, he turned on her and violently attacked her. Miss Clinton, who has had to be re-homed following the brutal assault, said her children now suffer nightmares and the family are scared to leave their home. After hearing of Barton’s suspended sentence, Miss Clinton said: ‘It doesn’t make sense how he only got that for hurting my kids the way he did. He is a monster. ‘There is nothing I can do to stop their nightmares. Me and my children are scared to go out. We thought he was going to prison, and I thought I would be able to get my life back when he went. ‘Now, I’m stuck. I’m determined not to let him win, but I do not know what to do. I wanted justice, and I have none.’ Miss Clinton, who had been with Barton for a year, said she first heard her young daughter screaming for help after returning home last September. Speaking after the case, she said: ‘He was stood there holding onto her hair and punching her in the head. ‘I ran in and grabbed his shoulders to swing him round so he couldn’t hit her anymore, but he kept trying to go back. I just have this image of him going back to [my daughter again and again. ‘Every time I was trying to get her away, he kept punching me. He was just constantly punching.  ‘The next thing I remember is him trying to grab my daughter over the banister by her hair, and he grabbed half of it out and trampled over one of my boys. ‘I thought he was going to kill us. I didn’t see there was any way of getting out of there. There was only going to be one outcome. I don’t even know how we got through it.’ The 31-year-old added: ‘I kept trying to ring the police but he kept smashing my phone away. One of the kids was able to get to it and said “he is trying to kill my Mummy”. ‘My daughter says she just keeps seeing my face bruised and covered in blood whenever she closes her eyes. ‘We are tired of being scared, and we even ended up in a refuge for two months after it happened. I still feel all alone and I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to my kids.’  She said Barton, who had been drinking heavily, stood at the bottom of the stairs mocking the family after the attack, before chasing the children as they tried to escape to their father’s house in an adjoining street. Barton, of Neatshead Garth, Bransholme, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two common assaults. Barton was sentenced to ten months in jail, suspended for 18 months, and must do 240 hours of unpaid work. He was also made subject to a two-year restraining order and a six-month curfew, and must be at home between 8pm and 5am.