'˜Thug' jailed for racist attack on pregnant woman outside Co-Op store in Milton Keynes

David Gallacher attacked the Somalian woman, who was wearing a headscarf, outside the Water Eaton Co-Op store after shouting “you’re the f***ing problem with this place” and hitting her with a wine bottle and a bag of ice.

Although Samsam Haji-Ali cried out that she was pregnant, the 37-year-old defendant kicked her in the stomach, causing her to roll around on the floor in agony.

He then hit her husband, Abdullah Sulamain, over the head with the bottle leaving him needing stitches on August 6 last year.

He was arrested on September 14 at his former partner’s home but spat at the officers trying to arrest him, both in the home and in the police van.

He also threatened to infect them with Hepatitis B.

“I’ve got f***ing Hepatitis B you f***ing c***s,” he shouted at the them, before adding: “I’m going to carry on spitting and biting.”

Dressed in a grey PING golf jumper over a chequered shirt and jeans, Gallacher today admitted two counts of racially-aggravated assault after attacking the woman and her husband and three counts of assaulting a constable in the execution of his/her duty.

He was sentenced to three years and 11 months behind bars - two-a-half-years for the attack on Mrs Haji-Ali and 13 months for the attack on Mr Sulamain, plus four months for each count of assaulting officers, to run concurrently.

“You are a racist and a thug too,” said Judge Francis Sheridan.

“It’s time you learned that your vile conduct and abhorrent views are a thing of the past.”

He added: “This county will not bow to the views of racists.”

The judge, sitting at Aylesbury Crown Court, heard how Gallacher had taken a young boy, related to his partner, to the Co-Op store in Water Eaton Road in Bletchley where he bought some wine, a bag of ice cubes and some ice cream.

He had seen Mrs Haji-Ali in the store, where she was buying milk and cakes as her husband waited in the car outside, and told her he did not understand her, after she had asked him why he was staring.

After she sat in the passenger seat the court heard how Gallacher tried to open it but after feeling vulnerable inside the car got out and he hit her with his bag of heavy shopping and kicked her in the stomach.

Although she cried out that she was pregnant he kicked her again in the stomach after attacking her “clown clothes”, causing her to roll around the floor in again.

Mr Sulamain got out of the car to try to calm Gallacher down and protect his wife but he was was hit over the head with the wine bottle and was later given five stitches in his head.

When the pair arrived at hospital Mrs Haji-Ali was told she was still pregnant, but days later on August 24 she suffered a miscarriage - a tragedy that prosecuter Christopher Wing said ‘could not be medically proven’ to be related to the attack.

When officers forced their way into Gallacher’s partner’s home in Larch Grove, in Bletchley, on September they found him in the attic where they arrested him, despite his attempts to bite and spit and threats to infect them with Hepetitis B.

Defending, Laban Leake told the court that his client was full of remorse for his actions.

“Taking that incident as a whole, there’s no doubt that a rage took hold of him that day,” he said.

Gallacher, now of no fixed abode, already had 23 convictions from 35 offences was jailed for three years and 11 months.