Alperton man admits hammer attack on three sisters in London hotel

Philip Spence attacked the three sisters at the Cumberland Hotel (Pic credit Google Streetview) Archant

A man from Alperton has pleaded guilty to brutally attacking three sisters in their hotel room but denies trying to kill them.

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Philip Spence, 32, of Abbeyfields Close, admitted three counts of grievous bodily harm at London’s Southwark Crown Court, but faces trial for the attempted murder of the women, who were visiting the UK from the United Arab Emirates.

He entered the pleas last Wednesday but reporting restrictions were only lifted today.

Ohoud Al-Najar and her sisters, Kohloud and Fatima, were staying at the four-star Cumberland Hotel near Marble Arch in London’s West End when they were attacked with a claw hammer in their room in the early hours of Sunday April 6.

Police said at the time that one victim suffered life-threatening head and facial injuries, lost her left eye and significant quantities of blood.

Doctors have assessed that she has five per cent brain function, although her other organs are in a good working condition.

Another sister suffered two fractures to her skull, a broken left arm and a fracture to her cheekbone.

The third sister had a fracture to her skull and a ruptured left eardrum.

The three women had come to London for shopping and sightseeing and arrived in the UK between April 3 and 5.

An unknown quantity of property worth well over £1,000 was taken following the attack.

Spence and a second man, 57-year-old Thomas Efremi, will each face one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary.

Efremi, from Islington, north London, pleaded guilty to fraud at an earlier hearing after withdrawing thousands of pounds from stolen credit cards.

Both men are being held in custody and their trial will begin tomorrow.