Woman used hammer to fend off Viagra OAP Published duration 5 January 2017

image copyright Spindrift image caption Tom Winter and Gillian Lavery

A woman has been cleared of attempting to murder an 89-year-old man after she hit him with a hammer to fend off his unwanted sexual advances.

Gillian Lavery, 43, was cleaning Tom Winter's flat in Clydebank when the incident happened on 16 February 2016.

He had arranged to have sex with a younger woman but when she did not turn up he told Ms Lavery: "I have already taken my Viagra. You are doing it."

A jury found her not guilty after accepting she acted in self defence.

Ms Lavery's trial at the High Court in Glasgow heard that she had been acting as a cleaner for the pensioner and both had known each other for a number of years.

Winter said that they had had sex together on three or four occasions during that time.

'Mystery woman'

He told the court that on the day of the attack, Ms Lavery had called to say she was going to visit him and he believed she was coming to his flat for sex.

But he said he told her to get out after she mentioned that she was expecting a friend.

Winter claimed he then walked out in front of Ms Lavery before being repeatedly struck with a hammer.

Photographs of the OAP after the incident showed him with bruising to his head, face, arms and legs.

Under cross-examination, Winter admitted that he had also been expecting "a mystery woman" to turn up that day.

He told the jury: "Gillian said she was bringing someone up...if the mystery woman did not turn up, I would have sex with Gillian with her consent."

'Not going anywhere'

During her evidence, Ms Lavery admitted that she had previously had sex with Winter and that she had been at his flat when he had sex with other women.

The accused said the pensioner asked her to visit that day as a woman called Sarah was coming up and she could make her "feel comfortable".

But she recalled Winter became "angry" when the woman did not show up.

Ms Lavery told the court: "He said that he had already taken his tablet...his Viagra."

She said Winter then told her: "You are not going anywhere. She is not here, so you are doing it."

Ms Lavery said she tried to flee from the flat but the pensioner hit her with a walking stick.

She said she hit him with a hammer that had fallen from a table to "get him off me" before fleeing.

Ms Lavery was cleared of attempted murder after the jury took just half an hour to find her not guilty.