Husband who covered his wife in barbecue fuel and set fire to her hair after downing TWO LITRES of Lambrini jailed for 10 years

 
A husband who set his wife’s hair on fire after downing a two-litre bottle of Lambrini has been jailed for ten years.
Anthony Tindle spent the afternoon drinking before he poured barbecue fuel over his wife Vicky’s head and set her ablaze with a lighter.
She spent three weeks in hospital recovering as a result of the drunken confrontation, lost part of her left ear and required extensive skin grafts.

Describing the attack, the 53-year-old victim said: 'I was so frightened I thought I was going to die.'
Tindle, 46, was initially charged with attempted murder but he admitted a lesser charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and was sentenced for what a judge called 'extremely cruel' injuries.


Neil Coxon, prosecuting, said the couple, who had known each other for ten years and married in 2008, had both been drinking during the afternoon as they watched television in their two-bedroom home.
She could hold her drink better than her husband and was 'merry' while he was 'more drunk', said Mr Coxon
They began arguing about Tindle’s family when she swore at him and told him to 'shut up'.
She went into the kitchen of their home in Darfield, near Barnsley and stood at the sink.
'The next thing she recalled was feeling something cold running down the back of her head onto her teeshirt,' said Mr Coxon.

 

'It smelled like barbecue fluid. Almost immediately as she felt the cold liquid on her back she heard a loud “whoosh”.
'She saw something bright out of the corner of her eyes and felt an intense heat around her head. She put both hands to her head and realised her head was on fire.

drunken confronttion unfolded in Vicky Tindle's two-bedroom home in Darfield near Barnsley

'Her hands were burning and she tried to put out the flames with her hands but they were now alight. She felt terrified.'
She filled a bowl three times with water from the sink and poured it over her head to put out the flames as her husband called the emergency services.

 'I was so frightened I thought I was going to die'
Vicky Tindle, 53

She later said: 'My teeshirt felt like it was melting on my back and I was in extreme pain. I didn’t know which felt worse, the pain in my hands or my shoulders and back as both were badly burned.'
Paramedics had to cut the teeshirt from her back. She told how frightened she was. 'I was just putting the flames out so I didn’t die,' she said.
Sheffield Crown Court heard the incident in September last year was 'completely unexpected' and Tindle had never threatened his wife previously.
Mrs Tindle was left with serious burns to her head, neck, shoulders, back and hands. The back of her shoulder-length hair was so badly burned it may never regrow.
She required extensive skin grafts, but doctors will not know whether they have been successful for another 18 months.
She told police their relationship was over and she didn’t want him back. She said: 'I’m frightened of him. He has gone too far this time.'
Tindle initially denied his wife's version of events, and told officers his wife had poured the lighter fluid over herself.
But the police did not believe him and he was subsequently arrested.

Patrol: A police car is stationed outside the house following the violent attack which left Mrs Tindale ith extensive burns

He said he could not remember what the argument was about but had sprayed fluid over her and picked up the lighter to 'threaten her a bit to quieten her down'.
She took the lighter from him and he saw flames around her head and he tried to put out the flames before calling an ambulance.
Mrs Tindle has to take eight different types of medication for the next two years and wears pressure garments 24 hours day from her waist to her neck to prevent the formation of scar tissue.
She is in constant pain and may need further surgery. 'I have found myself very unhappy, anxious and depressed and rarely leave the house due to my low confidence,” she told police.
'My intention is to divorce Anthony. I never want to see him again. He has hurt me both physically and mentally.'
Peter Pimm, defending, said Tindle had suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage on his brain in 2007 which left him with problems with his memory and decision-making.
The attack was a 'totally isolated incident' and not the culmination of an abusive relationship although it was 'stormy' on both sides.
'This resulted in the loss of control exacerbated by his mental condition,' he said.
'He suffered a personality change after his aneurysm and is unable to approach problems in the patient way he used to.'
But Judge Julian Goose said it did not offer much in the way of mitigation for the attack.
He said drink had 'coloured' the couple’s relationship and they were 'equally volatile' but it was clear by the time emergency services arrived Mrs Tindle was 'extremely seriously burned.'
She had suffered significant psychological stress according to doctors and her mobility, pain and distress was likely to continue for two to three years.
He told Tindle: 'The injuries you caused to your wife are extremely serious and were extremely cruel. Your wife may never fully recover. She has significant disfiguring and psychological injuries from which she will never recover.'