Man attacks woman he ‘loved like his own gran’ with meat cleaver

A MAN who launched a meat cleaver attack on the frail neighbour he considered “like a grandmother” was locked up indefinitely yesterday.

Lee Cotterill, now 23, hacked at the face, neck and head of 77-year-old Lillian Lovatt more than 70 times, Chester Crown Court heard.

Her skull was fractured and four fingers from her left hand had to be amputated.

Doctors thought retired factory worker Ms Lovatt would die but she survived the attack, which took place at her home in the Bollington area of Macclesfield, Cheshire.

Cotterill, a paranoid schizophrenic, pleaded guilty to attempted murder at a previous hearing and was given an indefinite hospital order yesterday.

His 16-year-old girlfriend, who helped him to clean up blood pleaded guilty to assisting an offender. She was remanded in custody and will be sentenced next week.

Robert Trevor-Jones, prosecuting, told the court Cotterill lived with his grandparents just two doors from the popular, independent and gregarious Ms Lovatt.

He said: “The defendant described Lillian Lovatt as being ‘like his own gran’.

Cotterill, who had no serious previous convictions, rained down blows with the cleaver. He only stopped when Ms Lovatt cried out ‘You’ll kill me!”

The victim managed to telephone her son, Mark Lovatt, who broke down the door with a policeman’s help. He found his mother soaked head to toe in blood and with the skin of her forehead hanging down over her eyes.

There was no evidence of theft at Ms Lovatt’s home.