TWO women hospitalised after they were the victims of an unprovoked assault hope to find peace a year on, after seeing their attacker jailed.

Diane Brown and Debbie Pearson-Scanlon still bear the physical and mental scars of the traumatic incident which happened in Newton Aycliffe on March 23 last year.

But they hope to be able to finally move on, now that their attacker Dale Robinson has been jailed for a total of two years and eight months and given a ten-year restraining order.

Mrs Pearson-Scanlon, 53, said: "There was a big sigh of relief once the court case was over, we were constantly reminded of that night and it is not something I want to keep reliving.”

Mrs Brown, a mother-of-four and grandmother-of-seven, said: “The truth will always be the truth no matter how many times you tell your false story. We were two innocent victims, I’m just happy he is not getting away with it.”

The women were unable to remember much about the incident but, following a police appeal, members of the public named Robinson as a potential suspect.

CCTV footage from the town identified a suspect fitting his description heading in the direction of Robinson’s home.

A neighbourhood police officer remembered dealing with an unrelated incident in a pub that night and recalled seeing Robinson enter the premises. It was later discovered he had subsequently been asked to leave following an altercation.

Officers checked CCTV footage from the pub and near the scene and found images of Robinson, wearing clothes which matched the description provided by the victims. They also showed him leaving the pub with a plastic pint glass.

The women recalled that their attacker had discarded a pint glass just before the assault and, when it was recovered at the scene, Robinson’s DNA was found on it.

Robinson did eventually plead guilty to assault, but claimed it was self-defence and that he had been kicked by one of the women as he walked past them in Silverdale Place.

But during a hearing at Durham Crown Court, Judge Jonathon Carroll rejected his version of events and instead found it had been “an unprovoked and sustained attack”.

The 44-year-old, of Middridges Farm, Newton Aycliffe, was jailed for 32 months for two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Both said their recovery was made harder because some people believed Robinson’s account and took to social media to make derogatory comments about them, including homophobic references about Mrs Pearson-Scanlon.

Mrs Brown, 54, who was left unconscious, had her front teeth broken and required treatment at James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, added: “There were comments on social media suggesting we were after compensation, really if I had a choice between money and my teeth I would choose my teeth.

“The mental trauma has been worse. Sleep has been practically non-existent, I keep playing it over in my mind and having flashbacks. I hope to move on now.

“I lost my husband, Ray, on Boxing Day 2016 but the rest of my family have been a good support through it.”

Mrs Pearson-Scanlon, who has three children and two grandchildren, spent two days in Darlington Memorial Hospital with facial injuries.

She said: “As soon as I had given evidence at court I wanted to leave, I was shaking and panicking. It was a hard day and I’m relieved it is over.

“After looking at people’s comments on social media and seeing stories which have been spread, I am happy people can now see that there was no reason for this attack to happen and the facts are put out there.

“It’s been a hard 12 months since the attack and I do feel justice has been served. I’m also pleased with the restraining order because it means I won’t bump into him when he gets out.

“Although it will never disappear from my mind I can now start trying to move on with my life.”

Detective Constable Andy Denham said: “When the victims in this case first came forward, the identity of the offender was unknown, but we were determined to achieve justice for the two women involved and find who was responsible for this unprovoked attack.By combining traditional community policing with forensic DNA technology we were able to place Dale Robinson at the scene of this nasty assault, despite his claims that he was elsewhere.

“He subsequently changed his story to claim to have been provoked, but thankfully the court was able to see through that story and we are pleased justice has been served.”