Man jailed after shoving pint glass into friend's face at his West Leigh home leaving him with scar

Angry Michael Fenton, 46, left his victim crumpled on the floor in his West Leigh home with blood spurting out his face on June 11, 2020, after ‘banter’ got out of hand.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard how ‘everything was fine’ between Fenton and his friend as they drank beer before events suddenly escalated with the ‘loud’ defendant.

With the victim concerned about upsetting his neighbours, he pleaded for Fenton to keep the noise down. ‘Come on mate keep it down,’ he asked his pal.

Butt Fenton, whose ‘banter was getting louder’, fired back calling his friend an ‘old woman’.

The victim then stood up and said: ‘Come on let’s go.’

But the court heard the victim had intended this to mean for them to ‘go somewhere else’ away from the address as opposed to confronting Fenton, prosecutor John Coates said.

‘The defendant then stood up and pushed the victim while holding the glass in his hand, with the glass connecting with the victim’s face,’ the prosecutor said.

‘The connection caused the victim to fall back towards the stairs.

‘He was in shock from the wound.’

As Fenton was leaving with another man, who had earlier joined the gathering, he told his victim: ‘You’re lucky I don’t nick your bike.’

Meanwhile, the injured man was left attempting to stem the flow of bleeding. ‘He could feel his face was warm from the loss of blood. He was concerned a main artery might have been affected,’ Mr Coates said.

The victim’s brother was called over and managed to repair the wound using butterfly stitches.

Police were not called straight away as the man was ‘worried’ about Fenton returning, the court heard.

Speaking of his ordeal, the victim in a statement read out to court, said: ‘I feel very angry about being glassed in my own home which has left me with a scar.’

The man, who has lung condition Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), said the attack had made him ‘feel worse’ with him now ‘constantly scared and anxious’.

Daniel Reilly, defending, said: ‘(Fenton) believed he was about to be attacked after the victim had stood up.’

The barrister added how Fenton had ‘not intended to use the glass’ but admitted it was ‘excessive self-defence’ that was ‘spontaneous and short-lived’.

Fenton had shown ‘progress’ over his drug misuse but was still battling his alcohol demons, Mr Reilly added.

The court heard Fenton had served a recent six-month jail term for a driving matter that pre-dated this offence and had a historical grievous bodily harm conviction which he was sent to jail for.

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Fenton, of Woodmancote Lane, Westbourne, admitted a charge of grievous bodily harm without intent.

Judge, Recorder Simon Levene, said: ‘You glassed your victim leaving him with a nasty cut.

‘You overreacted after you wrongly thought the victim was coming for you.’

Fenton was then jailed for eight months.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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