A former headteacher who was sent to prison for a violent assault on his deputy head with a spanner has broken his silence, describing the shame that cost him his career, marriage and freedom.
The Attack That Shocked a School
Dr Anthony John Felton, 54, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison for the brutal attack on his colleague, Richard Pyke. The assault was driven by what a judge later called 'overwhelming sexual jealousy'. Felton discovered that both he and his deputy were having an affair with the same, unnamed, female teacher at their school.
The shocking incident was captured on CCTV at St Joseph's Roman Catholic Comprehensive School in Aberavon, South Wales. Footage showed Felton swinging a heavy-duty spanner like a baseball bat at Mr Pyke, who was struck from behind. The deputy head suffered a glancing blow to the head and required hospital treatment.
A Web of Deception Unravels
Prior to the attack on 5 March last year, Felton had sent a remarkable all-staff email. In it, he apologised in advance for the distress he was about to cause and smeared his teacher lover, accusing her of having 'slept her way to the top' with members of the school leadership team, including Mr Pyke.
The complex love triangle involved Felton, who had secretly fathered a child with the woman without his wife Maria's knowledge, and Mr Pyke. Felton's wife also taught at the school as the Religious and Sex education co-ordinator. The headteacher's discovery that his mistress was also seeing his deputy followed a school trip to Auschwitz.
Felton, a married father-of-four, admitted to Section 18 grievous bodily harm. Sentencing him at Swansea Crown Court, Judge Paul Thomas KC said the attack was 'entirely without precedent'.
Life After Prison: Regret and a Restraining Order
Now released after serving just six months of his sentence in addition to time on remand, Felton has spoken publicly in Inside Time, a newspaper for prisoners. He expressed deep shame for his actions.
'I regretted my actions immediately and to this day I often dream about apologising to the victim,' Felton wrote. He described the 'sheer terror and anxiety' he felt about going to prison, fearing he would be beaten or raped, and spending his first nine days inside on suicide watch.
However, his desire to apologise directly to Mr Pyke cannot be fulfilled. Felton is subject to an indefinite restraining order banning him from contacting his former deputy. He has been released under the Home Office Detention Curfew Scheme and is electronically tagged.
Felton's £90,000-a-year headteacher post is now being advertised, as he remains suspended from teaching. Meanwhile, Mr Pyke and the woman at the centre of the scandal continue to teach at the school, alongside Felton's estranged wife, Maria.
Felton claims to have found a fresh start, working for a charity that supports prisoners. He concluded his article by stating: 'For many people prison can feel like the end of the road, for me it became the start of a very different journey.'
