Man Sentenced For County Durham Leisure Centre Attack

4 September 2013, 16:46 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A man obsessed with the Batman villain the Joker has been sentenced for attempting to murder a stranger in a leisure centre in Consett

Dale Pipe asked "Why so serious?'', the phrase used by Heath Ledger's character in the film The Dark Knight, after he attacked a man who was using a urinal at Belle Vue Leisure Centre.

The former chef, who had armed himself with a number of knives, was then overpowered by staff and went on to barricade himself into a toilet.

His victim suffered multiple injuries and had to be airlifted to hospital for treatment.

Pipe admitted attempted murder and three charges of possessing an offensive weapon at a hearing in May. 

Judge James Goss QC sentenced Pipe, of Thornfield Road, Consett, to an indefinite hospital order at Newcastle Crown Court.