STAB VICTIM STAMPED ON MAN WITH BOTH HIS FEET

All bones broken in victim’s face, eyesight damaged and he now wears a hearing aid

STAB victim Ian Davison has been spared jail despite stamping on a man’s head with both feet.

The 34-year-old became involved in a fight in Newcastle town centre and after punching his victim to the floor he kicked and stamped on him.

He then jumped and with both feet stamped on the man’s face before running off. The victim suffered a bleed to the brain and lost all his top teeth. He had a cut to his head which needed stitches. His eyesight was damaged and he now wears a hearing aid.

But Davison was spared jail at Stokeon-trent Crown Court after a doctor stated he was suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the time of the assault three-and-a-half years ago.

Instead, he was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years.

Prosecutor Amrisha Parathalingham said the assault happened in Newcastle town centre early on October 14, 2018.

The victim had been out with his friend and they were in Market Lane after leaving Revolution when the victim and Davison began to fight.

Davison punched the man and after felling him he began kicking and stamping on him as he lay on the floor.

Miss Parathalingham said: “The defendant jumped with both feet and stamped on his face. He ran off.”

The victim’s friend saw a police officer and shouted for assistance.

Miss Parathalingham said: “The victim had broken all the bones in his face, from the eyebrows to the jaw.

“He had a bleed on the brain and lost all his teeth. He had a cut to his head which required stitches. He now wears a hearing aid.

“He suffers from excessive fatigue and can’t work like he did before. In his latest victim statement he states he is deaf in his right ear and has lost 40 per cent vision in his right eye. He is currently under a neurosurgeon for memory loss and other difficulties from his brain.”

Davison, of Sprinkbank Road, Chell Heath, pleaded guilty to section 20 grievous bodily harm.

Carl Hargan, mitigating, said his client’s culpability was dramatically reduced by a report from a doctor.

He said Davison is ‘disgusted’ by his victim’s injuries, adding: “This is threeand-a-half years ago and he has been out of trouble since. He is starting to try to rebuild his life.”

Judge David Fletcher said Davison had visited his GP immediately after the attack and explained he had been the ‘victim of a ferocious stabbing’ 12 months previously.

“He began to feel his mental health was deteriorating,” said Judge Taylor. “It did not take the doctor very long to realise it was PTSD.

“Now a lengthy report from a psychiatrist experienced in this area of work makes it clear that his diagnosis is severe PTSD and he describes that as being, in his opinion, the most likely explanation for your behaviour on that night.

“You were having a flashback, you went back to the incident when you were stabbed and were fearful. The intense emotional arousal led you to behave recklessly.

“There is no doubt that this is a case where the initial aggression came from the victim.”

Judge Taylor ordered Davison to pay £1,500 compensation to his victim and imposed a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement, a 120-day alcohol monitoring requirement and a sixmonth curfew on Fridays and Saturdays from 8pm to 6am.