A man has been jailed for 12 months after he floored a customer with a punch while working as a doorman in a Huddersfield club.
Leeds Crown Court heard the complainant Lee Townend was left unconscious and was briefly in a coma in hospital after the incident in Maverick's in January last year.
Conor Quinn, prosecuting, told the court Asif Iqbal was working as a bouncer but was in the male toilets when Mr Townend began banging on the door of the cubicle he was using.
“No doubt irritated by his behaviour when he came out he took hold of him with both hands,” he said.
Words were exchanged and Iqbal pushed Mr Townend out of the door and down the corridor intending to eject him but when the customer broke free Iqbal punched him once in the face.
That caused him to fall backwards to the floor where he was unconscious with blood coming out of his ear.
Other doormen intervened and Mr Townend was taken to Leeds General Infirmary where he woke up hours later on January 18. He remembered being out drinking at various bars and then being in the nightclub and his friends leaving about 2am but nothing after that.
He was in hospital until February 2 as a result of bleeding on his brain and during that period had double vision, difficulties co-ordinating his movements and suffered memory loss.
He described in a victim impact statement not being able to return to work for some time and when he did having to use public transport because he was not allowed to drive.
He felt his personality had also changed, he had problems concentrating, was easily irritable, and had lost confidence.
The court heard Iqbal was not now working as a doorman but had some occasional work as a chauffeur.
Jeremy Hill-Baker, representing Iqbal, said references described his actions that night as completely out of character and urged the court not to jail him immediately. “It was a single moment of madness,” he said.
Iqbal had struck only one blow to subdue the man when he was taking him out and “not intending to cause serious harm but reckless whether harm was caused.”
Iqbal, 46, of Hall Bower , Huddersfield, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Judge Christopher Batty said there had to be an immediate jail term. CCTV showed him dragging Mr Townend along the corridor.
“As a doorman you have responsibility to protect as well as eject, certainly you have a responsibility not to assault.”
