FOLKESTONE MAN WAYNE BURFORD JAILED FOR VIOLENT ASSAULT AND THREATS

A man named Wayne Burford, age 44, has been convicted and sentenced for a violent and controlling assault on his partner. According to court reports, Burford told his victim to "drown in the bath" before rushing at her with a kitchen knife. The incident occurred at her home in Folkestone, just hours after he had been messaging her persistently to verify her whereabouts and expressing anger that she went to the cinema without him. Despite her efforts to calm him, which included texting from her vehicle and sharing a bath, Burford's rage culminated in a frightening attack where he ran at her with a knife, forcing her to seek refuge in the bathroom. She tried to keep the door closed by body weight, but he forcefully pushed it open, hitting her with the door and holding a knife. She managed to contact the police via Instagram message before he fled the scene. Burford was later arrested and admitted to assault causing actual bodily harm and threatening with an offensive weapon. He was sentenced to two years and three months in prison and received a 10-year restraining order, banning him from contacting his ex-partner for a decade. The judge highlighted Burford's history of violence and his past convictions for similar offences. The victim described how her life has been significantly impacted and expressed ongoing fear and anxiety. The court acknowledged that Burford's mental health issues, including PTSD and ADHD, did not diminish his culpability, emphasizing that his actions were impulsive and violent, driven by anger. The case underscores the ongoing risk posed by Burford, who was deemed a danger to his former partner and others, leading to the imposed restraining order and custodial sentence.