Five years for bottle attack thug

A thug who jabbed a broken bottle into the face of a Black Country pub landlord who had tried to help after an attack on one of his barmaids, was today beginning a five-year prison sentence.

Jason Large, aged 26, left Darren Owen with three face wounds needing around 100 stitches and nearly cost him the sight in his left eye, a judge was told.

Large had been in a takeaway on the Birmingham New Road at Coseley when the attack happened, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard yesterday .

Rebecca Jukes, a barmaid at the Old Chainyard in nearby Castle Street, where Mr Owen is the landlord, had been with her boyfriend Craig Beckett at the takeaway. Large, of Minith Road, Coseley, stumbled into Mr Beckett, knocking him into the wall, but "everything seemed fairly calm", said Mr Julian Alcock, prosecuting.

But he then hurled abuse at the couple before punching Miss Jukes. He and another man then attacked her boyfriend. She phoned Mr Owen to ask him to escort the couple away from the scene, said Mr Alcock.

He added: "Mr Owen tried to calm everything down. Large and the other man walked away, and Mr Owen and the others returned to the pub. Large then returned and smashed a bottle and ran at Mr Owen, striking him in the face. Large admitted two charges of common assault and one of wounding Mr Owen.

Mr Simon Hanns, defending, said the defendant was "disgusted" with himself, but could not remember what had happened.