soldier admits Xmas Day assault
ASOLDIER punched his girlfriend’s father during a boozy Christmas Day party after mistakenly believing he was going to attack him, a court heard.
Gerard O’Hara had attended Christopher Allan’s house party in Church last December when a ‘melee’ broke out in the kitchen area.
Burnley Crown Court heard how Matthew Alltree had punched Mr Allan’s son Shane Trickett, causing him to fall to the floor and sustain ‘serious injuries’.
When Mr Allan ‘rushed’ to help his son he was punched and left with facial injuries by O’Hara as he was leaving the kitchen, before both O’Hara and Alltree fled the house.
The court heard how Mr Allan, 49, made his way to the kitchen area ‘where he could hear screaming’ after Alltree had attacked Mr Trickett.
In a statement, Mr Allan said: “Everyone was screaming. I rushed towards the kitchen to try and help Shane. As I got to the end of the hall I got punched in the face by Gerard.
“He came out of nowhere and punched me straight in the face for no reason whatsoever. He punched me so hard that I flew back, hitting the floor in the hallway.”
O’Hara, 30, who is based at 1st Battalion Duke of Lancasters Regiment in Episkopi, Cyprus, admitted common assault.
O’Hara pleaded guilty to common assault and was ordered to pay £500 com- pensation, £750 costs and a £350 fine, or serve 14 days in jail in default.
Prosecutor Richard Haworth said the plea was offered on the basis that, although Mr Allan was not offering violence, O’Hara mistakenly thought that he was, as Mr Allan was rushing towards the altercation in the kitchen.
Mr Haworth said: “It seems that a lot of alcohol was taken by most of the guests and a lot of alcohol was consumed.
“That really set the scene for what happened thereafter. As the evening pro- gressed there was an altercation between two of the guests.”
The court heard that Mr Allan suffered an injury to his nose, two black and bruised eyes, cuts and grazes to his elbow and bruising to his lower back.
He did not receive hospital treatment and has since made a ‘good recovery’, the court heard.
Alltree, 29, of Gospel Farm Road, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to GBH and was bailed to appear at Preston Crown Court for sentence on Friday, August 25.