A man has been jailed for 16 months for hospitalising a man with a single punch as he drank at a pub following his best friend’s wake.
Nathan Walley, 31, knocked out David Amos during a confrontation at the Noah’s in Hartshill, Warwickshire, on a summer evening last year.
Mr Amos was kept in hospital for six weeks after suffering a rattling brain injury, a fracture to the base of his skull, a fracture to his eye socket, and lacerations to his scalp and elbow.
A court heard how he had to ‘learn to walk and talk again’ and still cannot drive eleven months on despite needing to for his job.
The altercation began after Mr Amos walked over to Walley’s table, picked up a glass and took a drink from it.
This ‘annoyed’ Walley, who grabbed the glass back before a bouncer intervened, prosecutor Ilana Davis told Stoke-on-Trent Crown court.
Walley, from Northwood, went to sit at a table with Mr Amos, who pushed him to the chest before they were again separated by security guards.
Ms Davis continued: ‘On another occasion, in the smoking area, Mr Amos became aggressive and he had to be removed by security.
‘He was standing outside when Mr Walley left the pub and made his way to him. Others were leaving at the time. Another security guard saw a pint glass thrown in the air and hit Walley in the face.
Walley entered the pub with blood on his face and chest before removing his top and shouting: ‘Let me get out there. No-one does this to me.’
He went back outside, after which others tried to stop him, but he ‘went straight up to Mr Amos, pulled back his right arm and punched him in the face’.
The defendant walked off as Mr Amos fell to the floor, unconscious and unresponsive, before being rushed to Stoke University Hospital.
He pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm. Mr Amos was said to have made a ‘good recovery’.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.