Jealous brute attacked reveller

A REVELLER was left with a burst lip after a sudden and unprovoked attack from a jealous boyfriend outside a nightclub.

Victim Daniel McCormack was at Tup Tup Palace, in Newcastle, in the early hours of September 3 when he went outside for some fresh air.

A court heard that as he was sitting on the steps outside the club a woman he didn’t know sat down next to him.

But within minutes he was confronted by a man who said: “What you chatting my bird up for?”

The thug hit Mr McCormack “hard” in the face, leaving him with a split lip and covered in blood, the court heard.

Now his attacker, Dylan Woodhouse, of Newburn Road, Stanley, has avoided jail after pleading guilty to the assault.

Prosecutor Laura Croft told North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court the incident was “an unprovoked attack”.

Police were called and Mr McCormack pointed out Woodhouse as the man who punched him.

Ms Croft said: “He was searched and found to be in possession of a small bag of white powder. He confirmed it belonged to him, it was cocaine and it was for his own personal use.”

The court heard that at the time of the attack Woodhouse was subject to a suspended sentence – imposed after another assault on a night out.

In that incident, the 23-year-old had headbutted his own friend who had intervened in an argument between Woodhouse and his girlfriend.

In mitigation, the court heard Woodhouse saw the victim’s arm around his partner and “there was just a flash”, although he said he “accepts it was just two people having a chat”.

Magistrates decided against jailing Woodhouse after he pleaded guilty to assault and possession of cocaine – but they extended his current 18-month suspended sentence to 24 months.

He was also ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work and pay £200 compensation to the victim.