A WIDNES doorman has said he will need to undergo cosmetic surgery due to the injuries he sustained after he was brutally attacked by two customers inside a venue he was working at.
The victim was working on the door of Corner House on Alforde Street, Widnes, in the early hours of Sunday, November 23 last year.
He became involved in an altercation with Liam McPartland and his friend following a dispute over a wristband needed to enter the venue.
McPartland, of Conleach Road, Liverpool, had returned to Widnes following a day of heavy drinking at Haydock Park Racecourse when the assault occurred, a court heard.
He appeared at Warrington Magistrates Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to one charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH).
It was heard that at around 2am on Sunday, November 23, McPartland and a group of people entered Corner House and had been in the bar for around an hour before one of the defendant’s friends was asked by the doorman to leave due to him not having the correct wristband.
Mark Baker, prosecuting, told the court that the doorman stopped the man and that an altercation then broke out between him, the man and McPartland.
CCTV footage played to the court showed the dad-of-two and the other man violently attacking the doorman, with the defendant throwing several punches to the complainant’s face.
The victim attended hospital following the assault and required five stitches to his face.
Both McPartland and the other male were arrested at the time of the incident and were then released on bail.
In a personal statement read to the court, the victim told how, ‘my lip is out of shape’ and he will need ‘a cosmetic procedure’ to fix this.
Defending, Mr McAteer said in relation to the offence: “This is a really unpleasant incident for the door staff members.
“The injuries to the victim were shown to Mr McPartland at the police station. He was appalled by what the victim has sustained. He has made that clear in his pre-sentence report.”
Mr McAteer said his client pleaded guilty at the first opportunity he could to the charge of ABH.
“He is a man of good character. He is a family man who works, he does not ordinarily drink,” he said.
“The defendant had gone to a social event at Haydock Racecourse where he had been all day.
“He does not usually drink and had been drinking a large amount of alcohol.
“At the end of the day, they go back to Widnes and go to a pub and then move from that location. My client should have gone home but decided to stay out.
“He ended up at this pub. He had been inside this pub for an hour or so. What transpires is some kind of altercation in the doorway.
“He has got caught up in this and rather than stay away from it, the alcohol has kicked in and results in a number of people throwing punches in the doorway.”
McPartland’s defence said his client has had ‘a lot of time to think about his behaviour’.
“It has affected his family life and work. He has two young children.”
Concluding sentencing, chair of the magistrate’s bench Mr Culloty first addressed the defendant.
“We have taken into consideration your clear remorse and your previous good character and your early plea. But for the level of injury, we have to sentence this, and it has passed the custody threshold,” he said.
“You seriously hurt somebody.”
McPartland was handed a 24-week jail sentence suspended for 12 months and was ordered to pay out £2,200 in compensation to the victim.
The defendant was ordered to complete 15 Rehabilitation Requirement Days.
Source – Runcorn & Widnes
