The nurse was conducting ward rounds when she was attacked
Philip Dewey and Laura Hill
18:25, 15 Jan 2026
A psychiatric nurse working at a mental health unit was attacked by a patient suffering from schizophrenia, leaving her with lasting scars and ongoing anxiety about her safety at work.
Alexander Horton, 34, had been receiving treatment at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend for three days when he launched an unprovoked assault on his victim at approximately 11.55pm on October 30, 2024.
Cardiff Crown Court heard on Thursday how the nurse was carrying out her routine evening rounds when the defendant emerged from his room and calmly requested assistance. Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here.
However, as she approached Horton, the nurse was suddenly seized and put into a headlock before he began repeatedly jabbing her face with a sharpened pen.
The victim recalled feeling the pen puncture her left eyebrow and becoming aware her face was covered in blood. The attack continued for approximately eight seconds until staff members intervened to restrain the defendant, and the injured nurse was rushed to A&E, reports Wales Online.
She sustained two cuts to her left eyebrow and another to the side of her left eyebrow. A pen was subsequently retrieved with its tube broken and blood-soaked at the tip.
After being arrested, Horton requested valium and expressed feeling as though the "world was coming to an end" and "trapped". He admitted he had missed his medication that day and something within him "snapped", though he subsequently felt "horrible" and expressed remorse for his actions.
Horton, from Llanarth Road, Llanarth, Monmouthshire, subsequently admitted to intentional strangulation and a section 18 wounding offence. The court was told he had no prior convictions.
In a victim personal statement presented to the court, the nurse explained: "I felt fear each time I entered the ward, not knowing whether he was going to attack me again or if he had another assault planned against me.
"Since the attack I am even more acutely aware of my surroundings, especially in the presence of male patients in case I could be assaulted in some way again.
"It has left me with two scars, one to my eyebrow and another to my temple. The cuts are healing but I'm conscious the scars are still there.
"People will ask me about the scars and I have to explain what happened and relive the incident and become upset. The incident has become part of my life I am struggling to forget about.
"I'm lucky the pen didn't puncture my eyeball. My sight did come back but it left me feeling shaken up."
In mitigation, the court was informed that Horton had not been involved in any additional incidents whilst receiving psychiatric care, and there was nothing before the attack to indicate he was predisposed to violence.
During sentencing, Judge Paul Hobson stated: "(The victim) was someone who was simply doing her job, trying to care for and help you. What you did and the injury you caused has had a profound effect upon her."
Horton was placed under a hospital order pursuant to section 37 of the Mental Health Act.