A MAN is beginning a 75-month prison sentence after forcing his way into a house and beating the occupant with a baseball bat.

Daniel William Corcoran received the sentence, of six years and three months, at Durham Crown Court after admitting aggravated burglary on the day he was to stand trial on the charge, last Wednesday, having denied it at a plea hearing in January.

The court was told the 37-year-old defendant, of Lime Terrace, Eldon Lane, Bishop Auckland, kicked down the front door of a house in Grange Villa, near Chester-le-Street, on November 6.

In the unprovoked attack that followed, he hit the occupant nine times with a bat on the head, hands and forearm, leaving him with cuts and bruising.

Commenting on the case, a Durham Police spokesman said: “This sentence reflects the severity of the incident and the impact it had on all involved.

“Our officers will always endeavour to support victims of crime and put violent offenders before the courts”.

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