A MAN ‘snapped’ and repeatedly punched and kicked his victim in the head after wrongly thinking he was about to hurt a woman.
David Ashbrooke, 22, of Cambridge Road, Ellesmere Port, received a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, for assaulting Christopher Hayward on February 13 this year.
The victim had been walking with two female friends along Newnham Drive, Ellesmere Port, at 5.15am when he began a discussion with one of them.
Prosecuting at Chester, Ellesmere Port and Neston Magistrates Court, Anne Rouse said although the pair started shouting, they had known each other for a considerable amount of time.
Ashbrooke, who was walking behind, confronted Hayward by pushing him in the back and shouting ‘what are you doing?’.
As the victim turned round, Ashbrooke punched him in the face before grabbing his collar and pulling him to the ground.
Mrs Rouse said: “He straddled him and continued to punch his face on numerous occasions. The defendant got up and started to kick him in the head while he was on the ground.
“The victim shouted ‘I don’t want to fight’.”
Resident Lynn Briscoe, who witnessed the attack and came to Hayward’s aid, was ‘horrified’ by the violence, Mrs Rouse told the court.
The victim was taken to hospital with cuts and bruises to his head and face.
Defending, Chris Hunt described his client’s actions as a ‘mistake’ and a ‘complete one-off’.
He explained: “This is a young man who is in work, whose employer describes him as hard-working and reliable. He has never been in any trouble before or since.
“He just snapped on this occasion. He perceived some form of domestic violence was about to take place.”
Ashbrooke was ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work in the community and pay the victim £500 in compensation, £172 for loss of work and £20 for loss of property. He must also pay £85 costs.
