Joker-obsessed man sentenced for murder attempt

A MAN obsessed with the Batman villain the Joker is due to be sentenced for attempting to murder a stranger in a leisure centre in County Durham.

The late Heath Ledger, pictured as the Joker in The Dark Knight. Picture: AP

Dale Pipe asked “Why so serious?”, the phrase uttered by Heath Ledger’s character in the film The Dark Knight, after he attacked a man who was using a urinal at Belle Vue Leisure Centre, Consett.

The former chef, who had armed himself with a number of knives, was then overpowered by staff and went on to barricade himself into a toilet.

His victim suffered multiple injuries and had to be airlifted to hospital for treatment.

Pipe admitted attempted murder and three charges of possessing an offensive weapon at a hearing in May. He is due to be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court.