Thug Kicked His Girlfriend 40 Times in The Head Leaving Her Brain Damaged and Paralysed

A 72-year-old woman was horrified to discover the man who left her daughter brain damaged in a brutal attack had been given a job at the hospital where she is treated. Lisa Taylor, 35, was left paralysed and unable to speak after former boyfriend Steve Clark, also 35, kicked her in the head 40 times in a park in Somerset in 2000. Clark was sentenced to four years in jail but served just two. After he was released, Clark was given a job as a courier at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, where Miss Taylor still receives treatment. Mother Nancy Taylor, who is now Lisa's full-time carer, only found out Clark had been employed by the hospital in March, when she came face to face with him as he stood near her daughter's bed. Miss Taylor, then a trainee chef, met Clark in 1997 and fell pregnant with their daughter, Millie, just six months later.

The couple had a stormy relationship and on July 9, 2000 Lisa phoned her mum to tell her she and Steve were going to give it another go. That was the last time she spoke to her mother before she was found unconscious in a park.

In court, Clark claimed he 'snapped' and 'lost control' as they rowed after a night out.

Speaking today, Mrs Taylor said: 'When I saw him in the hospital I felt sick. He was very cheery and was telling someone they looked really well.


Steve Clark, pictured outside his home in April

'I turned to him and said, 'It's a pity Lisa isn't looking well,' and I walked away, I was so upset. I don't think he should be employed. Let him sweep the streets, tidy up somewhere, but not in a hospital.'

Mrs Taylor provides 24-hour care for her daughter at her home in Taunton, but Lisa has to be admitted to hospital every time she has a seizure - between every four and ten weeks.

They are triggered when she has a strong emotional reaction. At the mere mention of Clark's name she lets out a wail and breaks down.

Mrs Taylor complained to hospital bosses after her encounter with Clark but they refused to tell her what he was doing there and why they had given him a job.

She started a campaign to have him fired and now, six weeks later, has won a small victory, with the hospital agreeing to move Clark to a different job.

But they have still refused to tell Mrs Taylor where he is now working - or why they are employing him at all.

Mrs Taylor received a letter from the hospital apologising for her coming face to face with him.

It added they were aware of Clark's criminal history and had to respect a person's right to rehabilitation.

Mrs Taylor said: 'Coming face to face with someone who has done that to your daughter - it was horrible. It will make a big difference to know we won't see him again.

'I've been told that the only time he will be allowed in the hospital is if he is admitted as a patient. I know it sounds terrible, but I said to them "lets hope it's in a black bag".