A headteacher who attacked his deputy with a large adjustable spanner in a fit of sexual jealousy has been jailed for two years and four months. Anthony John Felton, 54, ambushed Richard Pyke, 51, from behind at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic comprehensive school in Aberavon, south Wales, on an unspecified date.
CCTV footage played at Swansea Crown Court showed Felton concealing the wrench in his jacket before repeatedly swinging it at Pyke’s head. Pyke fell to the floor and tried to kick Felton away before colleagues intervened. The court heard gasps from the public gallery at the attack’s ferocity.
Prosecutor Ieuan Rees said Felton believed Pyke had slept with another teacher with whom Felton had recently been in a relationship. Felton had discovered he was the father of her child, and thought Pyke had begun a relationship with her. After the attack, Felton fled in his car and emailed staff to apologise.
Felton, headteacher since September 2023, pleaded guilty to attempted grievous bodily harm with intent. In a victim impact statement, Pyke said: “You had my complete trust… and then you attacked me from behind.” Judge Paul Thomas called the ambush “entirely without precedent” and noted the trigger was “overwhelming sexual jealousy” from Felton’s own adulterous affair. Defence counsel John Hipkin KC cited Felton’s recent bereavement and cancer diagnosis. Police said Pyke suffered minor injuries and was discharged from hospital.
