Pub patron suffered fractured skull from fierce punch in Leeds beer garden
Victim provoked drinker who lashed out
A drinker was left with a fractured skull and bruising and bleeding to his brain after an altercation in a pub.
The incident happened at The Commercial in Armley in May 2024, with Matthew Richardson being sentenced at Leeds Crown Court recently.
It was heard that Richardson had been inside the pub when the victim “said something” to him to which he took offence.
He then tried to get at the man, but was held back by others.
Richardson, 41, then attacked the man in the beer garden of the Whingate pub, striking him with a single blow but with such force that he continues to have health issues two years later.
This includes headaches and a loss of sense of taste and smell.
Richardson, of Thornton Avenue, Armley, admitted GBH without intent.
Mitigating, Mollie Briggs said the assault had been “out of character” for Richardson. He had been on a suspended sentence order but not for violence, she pointed out.
She said he worked as a security engineer and the case had been “hanging over his head”, although he appreciated the injuries he had caused to the victim.
There was no explanation as to why the case had taken two years to reach court, particularly as the incident had been captured on the pub’s CCTV.
Judge Christopher Batty told Richardson: “I do not know exactly what went on. You were pretty quick to react.
“Had you not been held back you would have gone for him inside the pub.
“Given what I have read about you, there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”
He gave him a 12-month sentence, suspended for 12 months. He ordered him to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,000 compensation to the victim.