A MAN has been sentenced to a hospital order after admitting to killing his 82-year-old step-grandfather in Poole.

Charles Taylor died in hospital two weeks after sustaining serious head injuries at an address in Phyldon Close on December 17, 2018.

Matty Locks, 28 and of Ashley Road in Poole, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing on June 24, 2019, to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Locks, who appeared at Winchester Crown Court today, Friday, July 10, 2020, was sentenced to a hospital order.

The order states that he cannot be released from hospital without authorisation by the secretary of state.

An altercation occurred between Locks and his step-grandfather at around 8pm on December 17, 2018.

Locks struck Mr Taylor over the head with a lamp before calling his support worker and telling him: “I have just hit my granddad with a lamp.”

He was advised to call for an ambulance, which he did, and the police were called to reports that a man aged in his 80s had been assaulted.

Officers arrived at the address and Locks was arrested and charged in connection with the assault.

Mr Taylor was taken to hospital for treatment, but he died in hospital on the evening of January 1, 2019.

A post-mortem examination revealed that Mr Taylor sustained a minimum of three impacts to his head, which resulted in a fractured skull and traumatic injury to the brain.

Locks was further charged with murder and an investigation was carried out by detectives from Dorset Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT).

Detective Inspector Rich Dixey, of MCIT, said: “Our thoughts today are with Mr Taylor’s family who are being supported by family liaison officers. I hope the outcome today will bring some closure for them.”