A drunken thug launched a vicious attack on another man for no reason while on a night out in Liverpool city centre.
Marc Rae, 33, from Hartlepool, punched his victim multiple times after knocking him to the ground in Soho Bar, Concert Square, on June 11 2022. The unprovoked attack left the victim temporarily blind, with a broken nose and a fracture to the bone surrounding his eye.
He pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm at Liverpool Crown Court today, November 18.
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The court heard that Rae, a dad of one, had travelled to Liverpool from Hartlepool for a night out, and had been drinking heavily throughout the day.
CCTV which showed the moment of the brutal assault was played before the judge.
Mr Christopher Hopkins, prosecuting, said: "Without warning, the victim felt a blow to his head from his right side, which caused him to fall to the ground, and the defendant then jumped on top of him, throwing more punches at him.
"He described being in total shock. He hadn't been involved in a dispute or altercation with anybody that evening.
"He was taken to hospital and could not see from his left eye for five hours."
As a result of the attack, the victim was signed off work for three weeks, and was unable to drive for two weeks while his vision recovered. His mental health also suffered, and he reported feeling anxious when going out.
Mr Carville, defending, said: (Rae) had recently split up from the mother of his child and so he wasn't in the best form of mind at the time. He had been drinking on the train and had been drinking that night. He can't remember how or why he hit this man. He accepts this was an unprovoked, gratuitous attack and he bitterly regrets it."
Handing down a 16 month suspended sentence, Judge David Potter said: "You got yourself hopelessly drunk, and for no apparent reason you punched a man standing next to you in the bar. Thatman was with his friends, minding his own business when you, without provocation, punched him in the face and followed it up with further punches.
"You broke his nose and there was a fracture to the orbital floor.
"The incident was shocking for him and he was extremely stressed following the incident because he couldn't see out of one of his eyes.
"He has been left a shadow of the man he once was - once a sociable man, now fearful of going out in pubs and clubs."
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