ROGER BYGRAVE

A man has been jailed after kicking a pregnant woman so hard in the abdomen she lost her unborn baby.

Roger Bygrave, 38, of Townstal Road, Dartmouth, attacked Alison Bolton outside a pub in Dartmouth on 14 February 2020.

He admitted causing grievous bodily harm and was jailed for two years and six months by Judge Peter Johnson.

The judge told Exeter Crown Court the attack had left "physical and emotional scars" on the victim.

Bygrave, who the court heard had drunk at least 10 pints of cider that night, had previously been found not guilty of assault with the intention of killing an unborn child at a trial in Plymouth in September last year.

The court heard Ms Bolton was in the Market Inn pub when a dispute broke out after Bygrave broke the venue's rules by leaving with a glass tankard instead of a plastic mug.

He was caught on CCTV kicking the woman, who was 28 weeks pregnant, after she intervened in a disagreement and slapped him in the face.

'Brutal assault' Ms Bolton was rushed to hospital where doctors performed an emergency caesarean section but were unable to save her unborn daughter Robyn, who had been healthy before the attack.

In a victim impact statement Ms Bolton said: "I not only lost my unborn child.

I lost myself and my sense of self respect as a result of this brutal assault.

That day I lost a piece of my soul." The mother-of-seven, who has since given birth to a healthy child, said she now suffered from agoraphobia which forced her to give up work.

Judge Johnson told Bygrave: "The distress you caused by the loss of the baby is unimaginable and had left physical and emotional scars." Mr Sean Brunton, QC, defending, said Bygrave's actions were instinctive and spontaneous, there was only one kick, and he never intended the tragic consequenc