Break a leg

Some news from the United Kingdom. I guess Elizabeth Hingston's love wasn't so strong after all.

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A man deliberately broke his girlfriend’s leg as part of a £100,000 compensation swindle and was caught only because he filmed the incident on his mobile phone.

Gordon Thomson hoped to win damages from Plymouth City Council by claiming that Elizabeth Hingston had been injured by a falling wall.

Miss Hingston, 24, who agreed to the ploy, lay on the floor while Thomson, 32, placed a brick under her leg and jumped on it with both feet. The scam was uncovered when police raided his house on an unconnected matter and found the completed paperwork with the phone containing a video of the stunt. Clearly heard on the soundtrack was a loud “crack” as the bone broke.

At Plymouth Crown Court, Thomson admitted unlawfully and maliciously causing grievous bodily harm with intent in October last year.

Elizabeth Hingston, who is no longer his girlfriend, is not facing charges but the judge said that she was “lucky not to be in court herself”.

Bob Linford, for the defence, said that the couple planned to sue the council, claiming that the wall had toppled on her. He said: “The incident was taken on a mobile phone video. There is a victim in this case but she was a victim of her own making. A video clearly shows the act of violence and the cause of violence.”

The court was told that Thomson had had psychiatric problems but Mr Linford said they were not an excuse for his actions. “Whatever problems he has, they are not anything to do with this offence. A psychiatrist has talked about a troubled past but none of the illnesses from which he suffers are causative of this behaviour.”

Thomson, of Plymouth, was remanded in custody to appear at Plymouth Crown Court for sentencing on December 21. Judge Frances Gilbert warned him to expect a prison sentence. He said: “I adjourn for psychiatric reports as to whether you are to be regarded as a dangerous offender. She [Hingston] is lucky she is not in court herself.”

After the hearing a spokesman for Plymouth CID said: “We had been called to his house with a warrant for another issue when paperwork was found. It had been filled out with the intention of making a claim against the council but it had not yet been sent in. We also discovered a mobile phone containing footage of the incident. It was particularly horrible and nasty and featured images and audio of a leg being broken. Only he knows why he decided to film it and provide the evidence which convicted him.”

A friend of Thomson who saw the video said that the couple had been going out for just two months when the incident happened. She said: “They shot it in a house and you can see Elizabeth lie on the floor. Gordon, who is a big guy, then jumped on her leg with both feet. It was horrible – you could hear a cracking sound. It still makes me sick thinking about it.”

Hingston was unavailable for comment yesterday at her home in Plymouth. But her mother said: “She doesn’t want to talk about it. As far as she is concerned, the matter is over.”