'Gleeful' street attacker broke face of victim who was on night out in Cleethorpes

A DRUNKEN nightclubber who smashed a man in the face, fracturing his jaw, was later "overjoyed" at what he had done, a court heard.

He was "gleeful" about the attack and was "smiling and cheering" just seconds later, the court was told.

Nigel Howes, 20, of Elliston Street, Cleethorpes, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on Jarred Grimble – who was attacked three times in the space of 15 minutes – on April 17 last year.

The case prompted a warning from Judge Jeremy Richardson QC, who, after hearing details of the horrific street attack, said: "These incidents are all too common in the town centres and city centres of our country.

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"Ordinary, decent people are frightened and alarmed to go into town centres late at night because of this sort of violence.

"Even to witnesses and members of the public, it must be very unpleasant."

Craig Lowe, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that Mr Grimble, 20, had been out in Cleethorpes celebrating a birthday.

He and others left the Pier nightclub at about 4.15am but he was assaulted on three separate occasions within 15 minutes.

The final attack came from Howes, who punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious.

Mr Grimble was taken to hospital and later transferred to Hull Royal Infirmary, where he needed an operation to insert a metal plate in his jaw. A wisdom tooth was also removed.

Michael Culshaw, mitigating, said Howes had not been involved in the earlier violence, although he knew Mr Grimble was vulnerable from earlier assaults.

Howes punched Mr Grimble because he had been told that the victim may have been the person who was "bumping and barging into him" on the dance floor of the nightclub earlier.

Judge Richardson said Howes seemed to be "overjoyed" about hitting Mr Grimble and was "smiling and cheering" about it.

"He charged off in a rather gleeful way," said Judge Richardson.

"It was a completely unprovoked attack on a young man who had been attacked earlier. He's broken a man's face."

Howes was locked up for a year.

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