A drunken man took a beating from a random stranger as he walked home after a night out. The victim was on Burton Road, which runs by Carlton le Willows Academy, Gedling, after he spent the afternoon drinking with friends on April 17, 2021, when he was attacked and left with cuts and bruises to his face and an ear fracture.
He recalled seeing a white car driving along as he swayed on and off the pavement into the road. The driver beeped his horn and slowed down to speak with him. He then heard revving and saw the same car 30 to 40 metres away, so he disappeared between trees and hid.
The white car mounted the kerb and drove towards him. Terrified, he climbed over a wall into another street, which is the last thing he remembered. A witness heard shouting and swearing and saw defendant Lee Ashton, who had been a passenger in the white car, standing in the front garden of a house.
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Ashton took hold of the man and threw him to the ground, then dealt punches and kicked out but the witness could not say where the kicks landed. The onlooker made a note of the car's registration number and passed it to police.
The car was found crashed close by and abandoned. Ashton's sentencing hearing at Nottingham Crown Court was not told whether or not the driver had been caught or prosecuted.
Ashton's phone was in the footwell and cell site checks showed he was in the area of the attack at the time. His fingerprint was recovered from the car and a receipt in the driver's pocket in his name.
Ashton, who pleaded guilty to assault, causing bodily harm, was picked out by his victim, who said in a statement his onlook on life had changed since and he still has two facial scars.
Ashton, 35, of Mosswood Crescent, Arnold, has previous convictions for violence but is now a hard-working man who provides for his family. His employer described the father-of-three, a highways worker, as a great asset to the business, loyal and punctual and a great team member.
Judge Stuart Rafferty QC told Ashton: "History does not tell us what happened on this particular night with any clarity at all. A man who was very drunk undoubtedly attracted the attention of you, a passenger in a car and, more importantly, the driver of the car.
"There is a suggestion he (the victim) attempted to kick the wing mirror of the car as you drove past him. Whether that is true or not, the driver took offence and turned round.
"What is even more clear is that, Mr Lau (Denney Lau, who represented Ashton) says this was none of your business. You got out of the car and you punched that man several times having thrown him to the ground. It may or may not be that you kicked him as well".
The judge extended the terms of two suspended sentences Ashton was on at the time and gave him 12 months in prison, suspended for two years for the assault. He was ordered to pay £500 compensation to the victim.
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