Shaun Young, 29, from Bristol, admitted a charge of assault when he appeared in the Magistrate’s Court.
The court was told how the pub’s licensee had given permission for the victim of the assault to sit at the bar with his dog. The defendant, who was unknown to him, was sitting with others at a table nearby. At about 7.20pm, the victim threw a tennis ball for his dog which accidentally hit the defendant. One of the defendant’s colleagues was annoyed at this and challenged the man, even though he had apologised.
CCTV, which had no sound, showed Young trying to defuse the situation, before he then suddenly punched the victim in the face, which sent him crashing backwards against the bar. He was taken to A&E, where he required stitches to cuts on his upper and lower lip and he lost a tooth.
Young was arrested the following morning as he waited to board a plane at the airport. He said: ‘Is this about last night? All this for one bloody punch.’
In interview, he confirmed it was him on the CCTV and offered to pay the victim’s costs, which it was later established came to more than £2,500. Young had no previous convictions.
Defending, Advocate Samuel Steel said his client had come to Guernsey to look for work. He had had little to drink but his demeanour changed very quickly. The CCTV could not tell the court what was being said. His client had written a letter of apology to his victim and accepted that his actions had been wholly inappropriate.
He had not been trying to flee the island, but had hurt his knuckles with the punch and wanted to get treatment done on the NHS, which would be cheaper. His comment to police at the airport had been immature, his lawyer admitted. The court would find the CCTV footage shocking but he said his client did not necessarily need to go to prison.
Judge Marc Davies said he was slightly sceptical at the defendant’s reasoning for his early departure attempt but said he would accept it. For somebody’s first time before a court, this was some debut, he said.
‘Crass stupidity’ was the best description.
‘I saw your victim do absolutely nothing wrong and you made the effort to get around the other man to throw your punch,’ he said.
‘This was very dangerous and I could easily have been dealing with a more serious offence here.’
He accepted that the defendant had not gone over to start trouble and that it had been a single punch.
Judge Davies said he would take an unusual step which he was sure that some might say was soft and lenient.
Young was ordered to perform 120 hours of community service, which he could do in the UK, as a direct alternative to six months in prison. He must also pay the victim £2,000 towards his costs, the maximum that the court could award.