Man sentenced for crossbow attack on friend's home

Pritti MistryEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
News imageBBC Police car parked at the crime scene on Victoria Avenue with blue and white police tape across the street in front of the police car.BBC
Police arrested Andrew Woollen outside the house in Victoria Avenue, Hull, in October 2024

A man who attacked a friend's house with a crossbow has been given an indefinite hospital order.

Andrew Woollen, 52, fired a number of bolts breaking the front windows of the property on Victoria Avenue, Hull, in October 2024.

He was sentenced on Thursday following a trial of facts hearing at Hull Crown Court last year after a judge ruled he was not fit to plead on charges of attempted murder, criminal damage, possession of an offensive weapon and a lock knife.

Jurors were told he had been friends with the family in the house for a number of years, and on the night of 7 October, the homeowners were woken at about 22:40 BST by the sound of breaking glass.

Prosecutor Claire Holmes said Woollen was seen by the occupants of the house crouching by some cars on the road outside.

The court was told a 999 call made by the homeowner was heard saying Woollen, of Perth Street in Hull, had been "trying to smash the front door in".

Following his arrest, Woollen told police: "She has hypnotised me."

The arresting officer told the jury: "It didn't make sense to me."

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