Army veteran knocked out teen glass collector at wake
nowfearedreturningtohisjob.
Main, who left the Army in 2006 after five years of service which had included tours of Iraq, has been spared jail but handedasuspendedsentence.
Magistrates told him they could not understand how someone of his previous professional standing could have committed such an attack.
Prosecutor Kirstie Devine said: “The victim is a glass collector at the Beggar’s Bridge pub.
“The defendant was part of a funeral party and had earlier beendescribedasbeinghyper.
“(The victim) walked past the defendant to collect glasses and the defendant threw a punch.
“It contacted with (the victim’s) face, hitting his glasses, and he has fallen to the floor.
“He doesn’t remember the incident, but he does recall coming around on the floor and being helped by a woman.
“He suffered retrograde amnesia and had to have his lip glued.”
She added: “The aggravating factors are that this was a person working in a pub, the defendant was intoxicated and the ongoing issues to the victim.”
In his statement, the victimsaid:“I’mconcernedabout working now.
“I always thought that I was safe, but I’m not sure how I feel now.”
Michelle Stonley, defending, said Main had recently been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of his Army career and hadjustcompletedtreatment.
She said: “He has no recollection of this incident. He had drunk too much alcohol while attending his best friend’s mother’s wake.
“This has been a wake-up call. He’s given up alcohol.”
Mainwasgivenafour-week jail sentence, suspended for 12 months, and 20 days of rehabilitation work. He must pay the victim £150 compensation.