It was supposed to be a night of enjoyment as he celebrated his birthday and his sister’s wedding.
But the evening turned into a nightmare for Jonathan Ellis when thug Daniel Ramsden, high on drink and drugs, knocked him down some stairs outside a Mirfield pub.
Mr Ellis suffered permanent scaring to his neck, becoming so self-conscious of his appearance that he now avoids shaving.
He was attacked by drugged up Ramsden who said to him “Have you heard of me? I’m Danny Ramsden, I’m a hard b*****d” – before knocking him unconscious.
Kirklees magistrates jailed the 33-year-old for six months despite his mum speaking out on his behalf and promising that he’d changed.
They also barred him from returning to the scene of the attack, the Wilsons Arms in Huddersfield Road.
Ramsden pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm on the day of his trial at the Huddersfield court.
He was just five months into his suspended prison sentence for another assault when he incident happened on July 24 last year.
Alex Bozman, prosecuting, told the court that Mr Ellis was at the pub with his girlfriend celebrating his birthday and sister’s wedding.
He was outside in the smoking area when Ramsden, of Ravens Crescent in Dewsbury, approached him.
Ramsden said to him: “Alright mate, what’s your name?” And when Mr Ellis responded he replied: “I’m Danny Ramsden, I’m a hard b*****d – have you heard of me?”
Mr Ellis said that he hadn’t and the next thing he remembered was waking up back inside the pub.
His girlfriend witnessed him being suddenly punched by Ramsden, knocking him backwards and down some metal steps to the ground below.
This left him drifting in and out of consciousness and with some glass embedded in his skin which he had to pull out.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Ellis said that his ordeal had left him feeling uncomfortable with socialising and with significant scaring to his neck.
Mr Bozman added: “He said he’s stopped shaving and grooming in an attempt to hide his scars.”
Victoria Sims, mitigating, explained that at the time her client was suffering a low point in his life and going out on cocaine and alcohol fuelled benders to “escape the realities of life”.
She added that Ramsden took his anger and frustration out on a complete stranger and his mum gave evidence, telling magistrates that he didn’t care about anything and she believed that she would find him dead one day.
But magistrates activated his suspended sentence, with chairman Wayne Perriman telling him: “The victim was supposed to be out celebrating a wedding and you chose to assault him, causing permanent injuries.
“The victim is still suffering from these injuries and this shows a clear escalation of violence.”
Magistrates jailed Ramsden for 26 weeks, also taking into account the new offence.
They ordered him to pay £200 compensation to Mr Ellis and made a restraining order, banning him from returning to the Mirfield pub or contacting his victim for two years.
