Decorator who broke jaw of plasterer told to pay £2.4k compensation

THERE WAS ROW OVER SANDING JOB

A DERBYSHIRE decorator who punched a plasterer in a row over sanding walls has been ordered to pay his victim compensation.

Painter Michael English punched the plasterer in the face and must now pay his victim £2,400.

A court heard how English, from Swadlincote, and his victim started to argue about whose job it was to smooth down walls before they needed to be painted at the Kings Gate housing development, in Shepshed, Leicestershire, on June 25, 2020.

The plasterer called English a “jobsworth” and the pair went outside before the decorator hit the other man in the face.

During the trial, prosecutor Hal Ewing told the jury the dispute was about who was responsible for sanding down the plasterwork in a new-build property, with each claiming it was the other’s job. English spoke to the site manager and the plasterer was asked to do the sanding, which he was unhappy about.

The blow knocked the victim to the ground and left him with a fractured jaw. English, 42 had denied a charge of causing actual bodily harm, but a jury at Leicester Crown Court disagreed and convicted him of carrying out an unprovoked attack.

The victim said he lost a tooth, shed weight, and his children were distressed and deeply affected when they saw his injuries. He also told the court the incident left him feeling anxious and reluctant to have “banter” with workmates in future. He said: “I called him a ‘jobsworth.’ I was backing away. He was saying ‘Come on then.’ The next thing, I’m on the deck.

“He hit me on the left side of the jaw. I tried to stand up but he’d caught me a good one. I said ‘What did you do that for?’ I was absolutely shocked.”

Neil Sands, in mitigation, said English had no previous convictions and his wife, who works night shifts as a palliative care nurse for the terminally ill, would have to give up her job.

He added that English of Woodland Road, Swadlincote, was described as an “exemplary” worker by his boss and in the two years since the incident there had been no further difficulty.

The two men have not worked on the same site since.

English’s wife, Katie, told the recorder at his sentencing: “He was absolutely devastated and cannot believe he did it. He regrets it ever happening and he’s worried about childcare at home.”

Sentencing, Recorder Richard Davis said: “This was an unprovoked attack when you broke his jaw and he was out of work for a considerable period. He was unable to eat properly for some time and although he’s now, largely, recovered he still suffers some discomfort.”

The assault was witnessed by a plumber who quickly intervened and moved between the two men.

English was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £2,400 compensation to the victim.