A man was left lying unconscious with bruising to his brain after being attacked on a St Helens street.
Simon Griffiths - high on a cocktail of cocaine and alcohol - launched the attack outside the Ice Bar on Ormskirk Street in the early hours of the morning after taking his T-shirt off.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, February 4, the victim, Andrew Davies, was shown on CCTV to have been shouting and pointing towards Griffiths before Griffiths pursued him.
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Ken Grant, prosecuting, said Griffiths punched him in the head four times before pushing him to the ground, causing his head to strike the road.
Griffiths, 33, then walked off to the side of the Ice Bar and left his victim motionless.
While he was trying to put his top back on, he was detained by a policeman who had been directed to the scene by the CCTV operator.
The 43-year-old victim was taken to hospital where he was kept in for two days for observations. A CT scan showed bruising to his brain and bleeding on the surface of the brain. He had also suffered a laceration to his left ear drum.
Police found Griffiths was heavily under the influence of alcohol with slurred speech, glazed eyes and his breath smelt strongly of alcohol.
When interviewed by police he said he had drunk more than usual and also taken cocaine. He claimed the victim and his son had been verbally 'baiting' him in the Ice Bar which made him feel intimidated and nervous.
Griffiths said he did not want to let the pair 'get away' with how they were treating him and matters escalated.
He claimed there had been pushing between him and the victim before he pushed Mr Davies causing him to fall.
Griffiths expressed remorse while being interviewed and was concerned about the victim’s condition, said Mr Grant.
Griffiths of Linney Square, Wigan, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm on December 5 last year.
David Polglase, defending, said that Griffiths, who has previous convictions including for violence, had pleaded guilty and was remorseful. He pointed out that there was no evidence of a long term effect on the victim.
Jailing him for 18 months Judge Garrett Byrne said that he accepted that Griffiths was genuinely remorseful.
