Shrewsbury man escapes jail sentence after couple hurt in brawl
A man has been spared prison after being involved in a brawl which left one man needing eight stitches and a woman with an injured eye.
Gareth Davies attacked Phillip Davies and Jennifer Griffiths in Moneybrook Way, Meole Brace, Shrewsbury.
Davies, 43, of Lansdowne Road, Bayston Hill, appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday and was sentenced to 36 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months. He had admitted affray at an earlier hearing.
Mr Robert James Edwards, prosecuting, told the court that on January 27 last year Davies got into an argument with Phillip Davies and Jennifer Griffiths. The two men are not related.
Mr Edwards said: "He punched Mr Davies twice to the face with a clenched fist. There was then a wrestling match with punches from both sides. There comes a point when this defendant was on top of Mr Davies and was delivering punches to the head and he became unconscious.
"Jennifer Griffiths intervenes and this defendant gave her a back-handed slap. She too loses consciousness."
Miss Griffiths had a badly discoloured left eye and a swollen chin, Mr Edwards said, and Mr Davies needed stitches to his right eye.
Mr Michael Sherwood-Smith, defending, said unemployed Davies regretted his behaviour. "The juvenile way in which he behaved does not reflect well on him," he said.
"He is clear in his view that he didn't start the incident. But he got the upper hand and what he did was excessive."
Judge Peter Barrie, sentencing, said: "You caused a serious injury behaving in a way for which there is no excuse."
On top of the suspended sentence, Davies was told he must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £200 costs. He was cleared of charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault.
