Man left with fractured eye socket after Doncaster bar attack

A man was left with a fractured eye socket and a cracked tooth after being attacked in a Doncaster town centre bar, a court heard.

Sheffield Crown Court was told how Jacob Gabbitus was on a night out with his brother on November 25 last year, when the incident took place in Tiki Bar in Hall Gate, Doncaster town centre.

The court heard how Gabbitus, aged 24, had been told by his brother that a man had been acting in an aggressive manner towards him.

A short while later Gabbitus, of Ascot Avenue, Cantley approached the man on the dance floor.

Judge Paul Watson QC explained: "What followed was a nasty and a relatively sustained attack.

"He was hit with such force he had fractures to his eye and a cracked tooth."

Prosecuting, Andrew Smith, told the court that following the attack Gabbitus' victim followed him outside the bar to ask him why he had attacked him, at which point Gabbitus delivered a further blow.

Mr Smith said: "He required hospital treatment for his injuries

"In a victim impact statement he said the incident had left him feeling scared and that he no longer wanted to go out around town.

"It has affected his work because he is self employed. It has created mental health issues because he feels scared when he walks around."

Gabbitus pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing.

Defending, Richard Haigh, told the court that since entering into a stable domestic relationship and securing a well-paid job Gabbitus had become someone who contributed to society, leaving incidents like this one behind him.

Mr Haigh asked Judge Watson to consider handing Gabbitus a non-custodial sentence in order to allow him to continue his life in the same vein.

Judge Watson opted not to give Gabbitus a custodial sentence, and ordered him to pay his victim Â£2,500 in compensation and to complete 180 hours of unpaid work instead.

He said: "You have no previous convictions, and for all other purposes you appear to be a conscientious and hard-working young man.

"This was a serious incident Mr Gabbitus, and the sentence will be unpaid work for the community."