Innocent man left with gruesome injuries after thug 'looking for trouble' repeatedly hits victim in face with knuckle duster in Portsmouth pub

The incident at John Jacques pub in Fratton Road on April 18 was reportedly branded the ‘worst attack’ ever seen at the premises by the long-standing landlord. The savage left the victim needing two operations following gruesome injuries to his face after being repeatedly beaten in the face with a knuckle duster – which even left an imprint on his forehead.

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Shirley Moore, 61, said she was at the pub with her boyfriend Catalin, 36, and a few others having a meal when an unknown man came over to the table and started being ‘insulting’. A short time later when Catalin – a Romanian national – attempted to come in from outside he was thwarted by the menace who blocked the door.

When Catalin was back at his table, a row erupted after the aggressive man was becoming increasingly hostile. ‘I called staff as I was worried there was going to be a fight. I moved out of the way in case it kicked off,’ Shirley, of Fratton, said. ‘The manager was able to get the man out.’

But with the situation seemingly under control, things took a sinister turn as the male came storming back in with a bottle and knuckle duster. ‘There was scuffling on the floor…the manager was trying to separate them. The man had a knuckle duster and was laying into Catalin. The next thing I saw he was pouring with blood,’ Shirley said.

‘He was hitting him repeatedly with a knuckle duster. It was a totally unprovoked attack. Catalin was taken to hospital with X-Rays showing he had a fractured eye socket. His eye tear duct was ripped and he was left with knuckle duster prints on the top of his head.

‘Catalin has needed two operations. The first one was to stitch up the bottom of his eye where the tear duct was ripped and the second was to have bone built up under his eye so it would not sink.’

Following the brutal attack, which took place in full view inside the busy pub just after 9pm, the attacker fled the scene. ‘The guy had friends with him who were apologising to us after he ran off,’ Shirley said.

She added: ‘It was horrible. Catalin never did anything wrong. The way the man was walking around the pub he was looking for trouble. The pub manager said it was the worst attack he had ever seen in all his years at the pub.’

Police were called to the pub and went to hospital with the victim but Shirley said they have been left disappointed by the force’s response since then. ‘They’ve still not taken a statement from me or Catalin. It’s not good enough especially when they said it was a GBH case. He’s had to take time off from work and has suffered mentally because of this. He feels because he’s from Romania he is being singled out. It’s horrific what he’s gone through,’ she said.

A police spokesman said: ‘Officers are investigating all available lines of enquiry. Anyone with information call 101 or report online quoting reference 44230109047.’