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Mother shopped her thug sons after they blinded man in vicious attack
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30 May 2008
A mother told today how she shopped her two sons to the police for a vicious assault that left a father blind in one eye.
Carol Saldinack, 51, said she had no regrets despite becoming an outcast from her family, after sending sons Luke Newman, 27, and Oliver Clark, 24, to jail.
The pair, along with a third man, Benjamin Hammond, 25, were jailed for two years at Chichester Crown Court last week for grievous bodily harm.
Luke Newman, 27, (left) and Oliver Clark, 24, (right) were jailed for a violent attack which left their victim blind in one eye
The Daily Mirror said that in June last year they launched an unprovoked attack on father-of-two Marc Parkinson, 36, outside a takeaway after a night drinking in Chichester, West Sussex.
Company director Mr Parkinson was left with a detached retina, extensive cuts and bruising, a perforated eardrum and bruised ribs. He is now blind in one eye, his business has folded and he has been forced to sell his home to pay off debts.
Mother-of-six Mrs Saldinack, who lives in Norfolk, told the newspaper she was trembling with nerves as she picked up the telephone to call police after hearing her sons brag about beating an innocent man.
Carol Saldinack, 51, says she has no regrets about shopping her violent sons to the police
Despite now living in fear from threats she insists she has no regrets and urges others to do the same.
She said: 'I'd urge anyone who finds themselves in this situation to search their own heart and do the right thing.
'Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends - someone always knows who's responsible for things like this. They need to come forward.
'Think of the victim's family and their hell. If you feel you can cope with the consequences, speak up and tell the truth.'
Mrs Saldinack said she found out from a relative that the pair had been bragging about the assault, with Newman carrying a copy of a newspaper reporting the attack 'as if it was a trophy'.
She said she felt 'angry, appalled, shocked and sickened' and feared the victim could die.
It took her 'minutes' to decide to ring police and the pair's homes were raided the next day.
She said she felt 'nothing but guilt' after informing on her sons, but said she 'had to' call the police.
'Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing. But knowing how this man suffered, and that my own flesh and blood did that, there was no way I could have kept it to myself,' she said.
Mr Parkinson hailed Mrs Saldinack, telling the newspaper it was a 'brave thing' to do.
Detective Inspector Jim McKnight of Sussex Police said: 'The call we received in this case obviously helped in the investigation. However there was strong evidence, including forensics, which led to the convictions.
'We would always seek to support and protect individuals who provide us with information in difficult circumstances. Where people feel they can only give details anonymously they should call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.'
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