'Walking Dead baseball bat attack' man sentenced Published duration 21 February

image copyright Derbyshire Police image caption John Callis-Woolsey used the baseball bat with nails in it to attack his victim

An 18-year-old who was inspired by TV series The Walking Dead has been sentenced for attacking a boy with a baseball bat with nails in it.

John Callis-Woolsey admitted causing grievous bodily harm to the 16-year-old in Middleton-by-Wirksworth, Derbyshire, on 13 November 2018.

The boy now requires full-time care and has a lifelong brain injury.

Kyle Cullan, 18, who was an accomplice in the attack, was also sentenced at Derby Crown Court on Thursday.

Callis-Woolsey, of Nelson Close, Middleton-by-Wirksworth, was ordered to serve eight years at a young offenders institution after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.

Cullan, of Snowfield View, Wirksworth, was given a 12-month sentence in a detention and training centre after admitting a charge of conspiracy to commit robbery.

Warning: Graphic image below

Derbyshire Police likened the weapon used in the attack to one that features in the TV series The Walking Dead - a horror show set during a zombie apocalypse.

After the attack, Callis-Woolsey was seen doing a dance called "The Floss" inspired by the computer game Fortnite.

The mother of the victim, who can only be named as Oscar, said: "I would like the producers and creators of such programmes to know the influence the content has on immature minds.

"The assault has changed our lives forever, my son is serving a life sentence and doctors have advised that he will remain disabled for the rest of his life."

image copyright Derbyshire Police image caption The 16-year-old boy now requires full-time care and has a lifelong brain injury

Det Con Derek Ellis, from Derbyshire Police, said: "This was an act of extreme violence which was planned, orchestrated and carried out by a teenager for a somewhat trivial matter.

"His actions that night have dramatically altered the course of two young and bright promising lives, one of which was his own."

image copyright Debyshire Police image caption Kyle Cullan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery in connection with the attack

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