Man broke Alnwick New Year's reveller's jaw in toilet row
- Published
Leon Midgley attacked a man in the Dirty Bottles pub in Alnwick on New Year's Eve
A man broke a fellow New Year's Eve reveller's jaw in an argument about a toilet queue, a court has heard.
Leon Midgley, 22, punched the man during a night of celebrations at the Dirty Bottles pub in Alnwick, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
The court heard the victim spent three days in hospital and had a "permanent injury".
Midgley was jailed for six months, suspended for a year.
The court heard both men had been in the pub on 31 December when there was a brief row about a queue for the toilet.
The victim returned to his table but Midgley approached and punched him twice, fracturing the man's jaw.
In a statement read to the court, the victim said he was in a lot of pain and unable to work for a number of weeks.
Mark Styles, in mitigation, said the attack was "wholly out of character" and Midgley was "remorseful and ashamed", adding: "It was a night out that went terribly wrong."
The court heard Midgley grew up in Northumberland but now lived in Birmingham with his partner of four years after completing a sport education degree in the city.
'Lost it'
Midgley, who organises school visits for a forestry charity, was visiting his partner's family in Alnwick on New Year's Eve and had "too much to drink", Mr Styles said.
His Honour Judge Jonathan Sandiford KC, the Recorder of Newcastle, said the assault, which Midgley admitted, crossed the custody threshold but after reading extensive references and reports it was "extremely unlikely" there would be a repeat of the offending so the jail term could be suspended.
He said Midgley was a "rare person" in that he offered no excuses for his behaviour and "simply expressed remorse".
The judge said the victim would "never be the same again" and had been left with a "permanent injury" all because Midgley "got drunk and lost it".
Midgley, of Hazelwood Street, was also ordered to complete 150 hours' unpaid work and pay £600 compensation.
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