Parking row explodes as father and son launch horror machete attack on neighbour – ‘Cowardly and barbaric!’

A father and son from Essex have been jailed for 20 years after they launched a horrific machete attack on their neighbour over a parking row.

George Ripley Senior, 44, and George Ripley Junior, 22, “took revenge” by also attacking the resident with a plank of wood which was covered in nails.

The “cowardly and barbaric” attack played out last September, leaving the victim unable to “even lift a teacup” with his head in a different shape, Basildon Crown Court heard.

Ever since the father and son – both from Basildon – moved into their home in 2023, they have had an ongoing feud with their next door neighbour.

The brutal attack culminated in the victim’s hand being injured – so much so that he will not be able to continue his job as a scaffolder.

When another neighbour intervened during the vicious altercation, the two criminals ran away and attempted to clean their clothes and car in a bid to cover up any forensic evidence.

Both individuals admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, possession of bladed articles and offensive weapons.

Prosecutor Matthew Paul noted that “bad blood” had evolved between the neighbours in the months before the attack and, in one scenario, the victim claimed that he had received threats from a knife-wielding Ripley Sr.

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A different resident had also watched the grandfather exclaim on the phone “shouting c*** several times”, adding “come here and I will cut your throat and kill you”.

Recounting the attack, Paul added: “He then walked over to the garden table and picked up a machete on the table, and it was very similar in size, shape and appearance that was used to attack the victim on September 10.”

Then another had overheard a fight break out between both parties and witnessed Ripley Jr wielding a machete while his father kicked the victim.

Paul explained to the court: “The attack started when the Ripleys drove at him in the pick up truck as if to run him down.

“They got out and got a plank of wood with nails sticking out. [Sr] then struck him over the head with it, and he fell to the ground and while he was no the ground they continued to attack.

“Both men then had knives; Jr produced a machete and repeatedly struck at him with it. [The victim] suffered extensive defensive injuries to his hands from the attack.

“Sr thrust at him with a lock knife. It was the victim’s good luck that a neighbour came out of his house and intervened, telling the defendants to stop, asking ‘what the hell they were doing’.”

Judge Samantha Leigh told the father and son: “This was a cowardly attack perpetrated by you – to show who was boss in the area. The attack is nothing less than barbaric.”

The judge subsequently handed Ripley Sr for 12 years and seven months – in addition to another three years on licence.

Meanwhile, Ripley Jr received a jail sentence of eight years.