Jealous reveller attacked piggy-back man

A New Year reveller who admitted attacking a man in a fit of drunken jealousy has been ordered to pay £100 compensation.

Luke Wrench, of Church Road, Wordsley, near Stourbridge, assaulted Joshua Bennett on January 1 while walking home from a party.

Mark Cooper, prosecuting, said Mr Bennett had been walking along Moor Street, Brierley Hill, with his girlfriend when they saw a woman who was drunk and not wearing any shoes.

The woman, who turned out to be Wrench's girlfriend, asked them to call a taxi as she was lost, but when it arrived the driver refused to take her as she was too drunk.

"As an act of charity, Mr Bennett and his girlfriend escorted her home, and due to the fact she was not wearing any shoes he gave her a piggy-back," Mr Cooper said.

Wrench spotted them and became aggressive and Mr Bennett got him into a headlock to try and restrain him. Mr Bennett suffered a black eye, a cut on the back of his head and a graze on his right knee.

David Wilkins, defending, said that Wrench and his girlfriend had consumed "copious" amounts of alcohol while celebrating at The Waterfront, in Brierley Hill, and had become separated.

He claimed that 22-year-old Wrench suffered from a phosphate deficiency which often caused blackouts and which he believed made him more aggressive.

Magistrate Philip Hannah said: "To say you misread the situation is an understatement. Hopefully, you will think before you act next time, and before you get so blottoed you don't remember what you've done."

Wrench was sentenced to a 12-month community order with supervision, and ordered to pay £85 costs and £100 compensation.