Man punched Muslim nurse wearing a hijab and tried to tie it around her neck on her way to meet patient

Judge said: 'She's a nurse and a carer and was on her way out to care for a lady'

Man tried to tie the headscarf around her neck (Getty iStock)

A 25-year-old man has been jailed after he ripped the hijab off a nurse and punched her in the face.

The 29-year-old woman had been on her way to treat a patient and was attacked in an alleyway near her home in Stone-on-Trent last August.

Jake Hammersley pleaded guilty to religiously aggravated common assault, assault by beating and causing racially aggravated fear or provocation of violence.

She suffered a two-inch cut to her nose and a large mark on her neck.

As reported by the Stoke Sentinel, Judge Paul Glenn said: “You took the headscarf and pulled it around her neck and when she defended herself you punched her in the face.

”She ran to her brother's house – she was upset, crying, and shaken up.

“I have also watched some footage and one wouldn't like to be a police officer dealing with the likes of you.”

He added: “She’s a nurse and a carer and was on her way out to care for a lady.”

Prosecutor Caroline Harris said four men were involved in the attack. The victim warned she would call her son when they started verbally assaulting her, but one of the men grabbed her phone and put it on the car.

Hammersley then pulled down her hijab and tightened it around her neck before punching her. As she called for help, three of the men ran away.

When her nephew came out she ran to her brother’s house.

Ms Harris added that the plaintiff saw a dozen men carrying bricks and sticks and started fighting.

Police had to separate Hammersley from a group of Asian men.

Hammersley’s lawyer, Robert Smith, claimed his client had been leading a “chaotic lifestyle” and was “relying on the goodwill” of friends and family for accommodation, money and food. He said he had been living with his partner and had a full-time job since March.

He had 29 previous convictions.

Hammersley was sentenced to 40 weeks in jail.

His girlfriend Tracy Peaty wrote on social media: “Not a bad result at all Jake Hammersley see u soon."