A MAN working on the construction of Newtown Bypass has escaped immediate imprisonment after he punched another man in a local pub and broke his jaw.

At Mold Crown Court on Thursday, April 25, defendant Steven Goodfellow, 32, of Rotherham, was given a suspended sentence and ordered to pay his victim £5,000 in compensation.

Goodfellow admitted inflicting GBH on Christopher Wright at the beer garden of the Black Boy pub in Newtown, which fractured his jaw, in January of last year.

He had previously broken his jaw and the plates then inserted had to be removed and replaced during a four hour operation and a wisdom tooth had to be removed, explained prosecuting barrister Richard Edwards.

County Times:

The defendant and another man had been speaking to the victim and it was realised that they worked on the same project. But a second man was being insulting and the victim decided to leave.

However his next recollection was being cared for by staff in a rear room of the pub.

He was in so much pain that he immediately realised that something was wrong and he had a large split from his gum line to the lower jaw.

CCTV footage showed the defendant punching him.

The defence argued that while it clearly crossed the custody threshold, the defendant was "earning a small fortune" and working hard to support his family.

If he was allowed his liberty then he would be able to compensate the victim, particularly for his loss of earnings, which would not be covered by the statutory compensation scheme.

Judge Niclas Parry said that at regular intervals over the last 14 years or so the defendant had appeared before the court for offences of violence.

On January 30 last year he "reverted to type" and on licensed premises, under the influence of alcohol, he carried out a wholly unprovoked attack on a man who was dreadfully drunk.

He had already been taunted because he was so drunk.

The defendant punched him, he would be sentenced on the basis of one punch, which knocked him to the floor.

When on the floor unable to get up he was taunted further and the defendant cupped his face.

He had to undergo a four hour operation to fix a broken jaw and remove a wisdom tooth and 12 months later he still had numbness to the face.

The victim was in pain and found it difficult to chew his food.

It was a serious injury and the case was aggravated by the defendant's previous convictions - and the defendant had breached court orders in the past.

But he had pleaded guilty and had a good work ethic.

He worked in unusually well paid but difficult work and some years had passed since his last conviction.

There had been delays in the case.

"You have to understand that you cannot continue to commit acts of violence which are increasing in seriousness," Judge Parry told him.

But he had decided that the 18 month prison sentence would be suspended for two years.

"The reason for that is because this is a case where the normal avenues of compensation may not be open to the victim because of his personal circumstances. He has suffered considerable losses as well as physical injury," said Judge Parry.

With him in mind, the sentence would be suspended so that the defendant could pay him £5,000 compensation - £1,000 by May 3 and the remainder at £800 a month.

Goodfellow was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community .

He warned him that if he did not keep up the payments or carry out the work then he would be brought back to court and the starting point would be an 18 month prison sentence.

The court heard that the day after the incident the victim went to hospital at Shrewsbury where an x-ray showed a fractured lower jawbone.

He had previously fractured his jaw and the four metal plates then inserted had to be removed and new additional plates screwed in during a four hour operation.

The victim had been unable to eat solid food for some weeks and he suffered numbness.

He had been off work for three weeks with a loss of earnings of £3,600 and when he returned it was to light duties which he found demoralising.

There was still numbness to his face and chewing food caused pain and he had lost two stone in weight which he did not need to lose and he felt weak and tired.

He had two children and felt that he was letting them down because he could not participate in normal father duties.

The defendant, when interviewed by police, gave no comment replies.