Man's jaw broken with single blow from fitness instructor

Former boxing champion Dameon Ford was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for one year, after pleading guilty to assault causing grievous bodily harm at Walkabout in Wolverhampton.

Ford, a 29-year-old former soldier from Merridale Road, Wolverhampton, was also ordered to do 100 hours unpaid community work over the next year, and told to pay £5,000 compensation to Gulbir Singh Virdi plus a £100 victim surcharge. No order was made for costs.

Mr Paul Spratt, prosecuting, said Mr Virdi was on a night out with a friend at the Walkabout bar on December 22 last year.

"Mr Virdi and his friend went upstairs, and he became involved in an altercation with a man who walked past," said Mr Spratt.

Mr Spratt said Ford struck Mr Virdi in the face with a single blow, knocking him unconscious.

He said Virdi's jaw was broken in two places, and he was in hospital for three days receiving surgery.

He said that in a statement to police, Ford admitted punching Mr Virdi, saying that the victim's friend had approached his brother in a confrontational way. Mr Spratt read out an extract from a statement by Mr Virdi in which he said the injuries had caused a considerable amount of distress to both himself and his family.

"I spent some time in bed following my release from hospital," he said.

"My jaw is still swollen and sore, and I have a disfigurement to the right hand side which I have told friends is from having a wisdom tooth extracted."

Mr Spratt added that Mr Virdi's injuries had prevented him from working as a security officer.

Mr Stephen Hamblett, defending, said his client had no previous convictions, and had been self-employed since leaving the Army with a medical discharge.

He said his client had written a letter of apology to his victim, and he had produced character references from a number of pub managers who had testified to his good behaviour.

"This would seem to be an isolated incident," said Mr Hamblett. "He is not a man who goes out causing trouble, he does not drink."

Passing sentence, Judge Philip Parker told Ford that he recognised he was a man of previous good character.

"I acknowledge that you are particularly kind as far as children with disabilities are concerned," he said.

"For some utterly inexplicable reason, on December 22, 2013, at the Walkabout nightclub in Wolverhampton, when you perceived some threat you punched Gulbir Virdi hard in the face. Not only did he spend three days in hospital for surgery, the victim has suffered a lot since. He didn't deserve to to be struck."

Ford worked as a fitness instructor at gyms around the West Midlands. On his personal profile, he wrote proudly about his achievements as a boxer.

"Health and fitness has been the focus of my life from the age 12 when I started boxing," he states.