Two men jailed following violent attack in Kettering town centre
The attack left the victim needing hospital treatment for his injuries
Two men have been jailed after violently attacking a stranger in Kettering town centre.
Shortly before 2am on July 17, 2025, Tommy Rowe and Gerald Gribbin were caught on CCTV searching a lone man’s pockets during a sustained assault after targeting him in Horse Market.
The attack left the victim, a man in his 40s, needing hospital treatment for his injuries.
He was repeatedly punched, kicked, placed in a headlock and stabbed in the cheek with a knife.
Rowe and Gribbin were arrested soon after in Market Street, and were remanded in custody the next day (18 July). It followed an appearance at Northampton Magistrates’ Court in connection with the incident.
At their first hearing at Northampton Crown Court on August 29, 40-year-old Rowe pleaded guilty to Section 18 – GBH, attempted robbery and possession of a knife blade/sharp pointed article in a public place.
While 53-year-old Gribbin, of Station Road, Kettering, denied the Section 18 - GBH charge which was ordered to remain on file, but admitted the attempted robbery and possession of a knife blade/sharp pointed article in a public place.
On Friday, March 13, the pair returned to the same court for sentencing. Gribbin was handed seven years and two months’ imprisonment, while his co-defendant Rowe was jailed for seven years and six months. An order of deprivation was made in respect of the knife.
Detective Constable Anna Orton of CID North, who led the investigation, said: “This was an entirely senseless act of violence by two men on a stranger, which could easily have resulted in a murder investigation.
“Such violence will not be tolerated in our towns, and I am pleased the sentences imposed by the court not only reflect the severity and seriousness of the offence committed but also recognise the danger that Tommy Rowe and Gerald Gribbin present to others.”
Rowe, aged 40, of Kingwell Avenue in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228.