Student is given a '˜lucky' sentence after attacking man at Gunwharf Quays

Alexanda Arcay-Cachia, 22, was captured on CCTV at Gunwharf last April throwing a punch and attempting to kick a man from another group after a night out.

Events erupted when someone from the defendant’s group barged into the victim, who threw down his jacket ready for the scrap, Portsmouth Crown Court heard.

Following the fight, the victim was taken to hospital after suffering a fractured jaw and needed surgery, prosecutor Rob Harding said.

Defending, Frederick Hookman, said Arcay-Cachia, studying at the University of Portsmouth for a year, only became involved after someone in his group provoked matters.

‘There is an altercation between the two groups following the shoulder barge but it was not the defendant who initiated it,’ Mr Hookman said.

He said the aggression was not all on one side after the victim had ‘removed his jacket when anticipating violence’ but conceded his client ‘stupid’ for getting involved.

Recorder Anna Midgley, sentencing Arcay-Cachia, of Dorset Way, Twickenham, for assault, gave him a conditional discharge for two years.

‘You can count yourself extremely lucky. Make sure you never end up here again,’ she said.