Portsmouth dad who settles family squabble by pinning man against wall before breaking his ankle is served justice

But ‘loyal’ family man Craig Dunstane, 29, was warned not to step out of line again – or face prison.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard how Dunstane, of Almondsbury Road, Paulsgrove, flew into a rage on October 4, 2020, which left his victim £6,000 out of pocket.

‘The defendant held the man up against the wall leaving red marks on his neck and forcing him to stand on tiptoes,’ prosecutor Thomas Wilkins said.

‘He threw him down to the ground just to the rear of a cab leaving him with a fractured ankle.’

The incident left the man attending St Mary’s walk in centre for treatment after he ‘couldn’t stand on’ his ankle.

The victim, who was in a relationship with a relative of Dunstane, was unable to work for 12 weeks causing him to lose £6,000 in earnings. He ended up losing the position due to his injury and had to take a less well paid job.

The court heard Dunstane was ‘loyal to his family’ and would ‘never do anything to jeopardise that’ but had ‘taken matters into his own hands’.

Dunstane admitted a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm – a crime he was given 12-months jail for in 2015 when he kicked his girlfriend in the stomach.

Judge, Recorder Louise Harvey, said the attack caused her ‘significant concern’ after the victim was throttled round his neck. ‘You then threw him to the ground behind a car and showed a complete lack of care at what may or may not have happened,’ she said.

She added: ‘At the time you thought you were helping your family but the reality is you were not.’

Despite his previous conviction, Dunstane was spared jail after showing a ‘level of remorse’.

He was handed a three-month jail term suspended for 18 months.

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Dunstane will also have to pay his victim £1,000 compensation, complete 150 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation days.