A man has been jailed for a vicious drunken attack on his mother.
Benjamin Joyner, 38, left his mother with significant bruising, cuts and a fractured rib, Exeter Crown Court heard.
She fled to a neighbour who said she was 'almost unrecognisable' because of the ferocity of the beating.
Joyner said he blacked out after drinking vodka and Vimto cocktails and could not remember anything.
He admitted assault causing actual bodily harm. The incident happened in November last year.
Joyner also pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge of GBH against a man and was jailed for three years for both offences.
The court was told Joyner had been watching TV at home with his brother before they argued and his brother left. When his mother asked him what had happened, he flipped and attacked her.
She was left with bruising to her cheek, neck, arm and hand, as well as the fractured rib. She fled to a neighbour and called 999. She told the neighbour she 'could not believe' her son had attacked her, said prosecutor Laura D'Alessandro. Police arrested Joyner after subduing him with spray.
The court heard his 56-year-old mother had cancer at the time. Bathsheba Cassel, defending, said the victim's skin may have torn more easily because of her condition.
Joyner has PTSD and thinks he has ADHD. His mother said she wants him to get help for his mental health so he can get his life back on track.
The attack on his mother happened while Joyner was on bail for the GBH. In the early hours of April 14, 2025, Joyner brutally beat a man at a house in Paignton. The court was told four people had been drinking and smoking cannabis. Joyner repeatedly punched and kicked the man.
Joyner, of Hoyles Road, Paignton, has a number of previous convictions for violence.
Two other defendants, Elise Stevens, 37, of Foxhole Road, and Carl Barton, 34, of Hoyles Road, were convicted for their lesser part in the assault on the man. Stevens admitted battery and was given a 12-month conditional discharge. Barton admitted GBH and was given a community order for 18 months.
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