Two brutally beat stranger at estate pub
AMAN was viciously assaulted twice in the same night – but only one of his attackers has been caught.
The man was assaulted by an unknown man while in the smoking area of the Coracle pub in Penlan, Swansea, on June 16.
He had been at the pub with his sister and her partner, and had gone outside for a cigarette when an unknown man hit him so hard he fell to the floor.
A number of women in the smoking area helped stop the assault.
When he went back inside the pub, he was described as “semi-conscious”.
Gareth Richard Huxtable then also attacked him, punching him and knocking him to the floor again and repeatedly kicking him while he was on the floor.
CCTV showed Huxtable being pushed out of the pub by a number of people inside, but he managed to fight his way back in and throw another punch, but that missed the victim.
Huxtable was eventually removed from the pub by a number of men.
The victim was unconscious for three minutes on the floor of the pub, and a number of people helped out by bringing him towels for his head, the court heard.
When he regained consciousness, CCTV showed the victim walking out of the pub unsteadily, before collapsing to the ground while outside.
His injuries included a 40cm cut to his back and his jaw was fractured in two places.
The jaw injury was described as a “major fracture” which left him unable to open his jaw past the size of one finger. He needed surgery on his jaw including the insertion of three metal plates.
After his arrest, Huxtable, 40, answered “no comment” to all the questions put to him during interview.
A personal statement from the victim was read out by prosecutor Tom Scapens, and said: “Due to the injuries I have sustained through no fault of my own I will be off work for an unknown period of time. I will have no income and won’t be able to pay my bills. This has caused me great stress and affected my mental health. It has caused me to be wary of everyone I don’t know. I’m in great pain, struggling to drink, I can’t eat solid food. This will impact on my life greatly and my injuries will not heal overnight.”
Huxtable, of Mynydd Newydd Road in Penlan, Swansea, appeared at Swansea Crown Court having pleaded guilty to affray and attempted grievous bodily harm.
The court heard Huxtable has 17 previous convictions for 55 offences, dating back to 1998.
Mitigating, his solicitor, Jon Tarrant, told the court: “He has been very candid about his own actions and behaviour and accepts his manner of dealing with situations is inappropriate.”
Judge Paul Thomas told Huxtable: “You gave [him] a ferocious and unprovoked beating. You punched him hard and kicked him repeatedly to his head and face. It was a merciless attempt to cause him very serious injury.
“It is made worse that it was in a crowded and busy pub. I suspect there was a large element of not wanting a stranger in the pub. It can’t be said for sure you were responsible for the double broken jaw as at the time the victim was very badly injured already.”
Huxtable was given a five-year custodial jail sentence, with a three-year extension period.