Sentenced over attack outside pub

A DRUNKEN yob asked a man to lie down before kicking him unconscious during a sickening attack outside a seaside pub.

Ben Saunders had been drinking all day and had taken cocaine before launching the unprovoked assault outside The Reed’s Arms in Burnham-on-Sea.

His victim was left bloodied on the ground and was later treated in hospital for a minor brain injury, cuts and bruises.

Saunders, aged 19, was seen running away from the scene but admitted his crime when arrested by police.

The judge, Recorder Neil Millard, sitting at Taunton Crown Court, said: “This was a particularly nasty and violent assault on a man on the ground. You’ve kicked him six times, left him, and then gone back again, leaving him unconscious.”

Saunders, of Hayward Avenue, Weston-super-Mare, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm. He was spared prison after the judge was told he was usually a polite young man who was sorry for what he had done.

The victim, who did not know the defendant, was out with friends on October 21 when he encountered Saunders and one of his friends at the bar.

The victim left the pub but decided to return when he realised he had picked up somebody else’s phone. The phone belonged to Saunders. As the victim walked through the car park back to the pub it rang and he answered. Saunders and his friends were in the car park and the victim apologised as he handed it back.

Saunders asked him to lie down on the ground and started to kick him repeatedly in the head. He landed six kicks and only stopped when one of his friends stepped in. Saunders then returned and kicked him in the head again, leaving him unconscious and bleeding.

The defendant was seen running from the pub when police arrived. He was picked up later at a bus stop and admitted what he had done. The victim spent a few hours in hospital. He had a cut to his head, bruises, a black eye and sore ribs. He also suffered a bleed on the brain.

He said in a victim statement he still suffered headaches and memory loss. He was now wary of going out alone, had lost confidence and no longer drank.

Saunders is a man of previous good character. He was supported in court by members of his family, who said he was usually loving and polite. He has ADHD and at the time had mental health problems, was drinking too much, taking drugs and hanging out with the wrong crowd.

Saunders was given a 16-month suspended sentence with 300 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation days with probation. He was also handed a six-month night-time curfew and told to pay £646 in compensation and costs.