A MAN has appeared in court after assaulting a woman in a pub on Christmas Day.
Shane Jackson, of Laund Road in Salendine Nook, was before Kirklees magistrates yesterday.
He admitted the attack on fellow drinker Gail Ambler at the Boy and Barrel Inn in Huddersfield town centre.
Linda Fowler, prosecuting, said that the incident happened at around 6pm.
Miss Ambler was out drinking with friends and they ended up in the Beast Market pub.
She was sat in a quiet corner of the bar and noticed a group of three men, including Jackson.
Mrs Fowler said: “One of the males, not the defendant, shouted out: ‘It’s Christmas Day, where’s all the women? There’s only the retard in the corner’.
“Miss Ambler thought he was referring to her as she was the only woman in the bar.
“She said to him: ‘Do you have to be so rude?’ and there was an argument between them.”
The prosecutor said that Miss Ambler was then suddenly hit by Jackson.
Mrs Fowler said: “She was punched to the side of her head, her glasses fell off and she fell to the floor banging her head.
“When she got up she saw that all the males had left.”
Magistrates were told that Miss Ambler suffered cuts inside her mouth, a bruised cheekbone and a sore head as a result of the assault.
They heard that Jackson was last in court in October for battery and was given a community order.
Bobb Carr, for Jackson, said that his client had been out drinking with his uncle and another friend for most of the day.
He said Jackson had gone to the toilet and when he returned witnessed an argument between the two parties.
Mr Carr said: “He went to find out what was happening and would say that he was initially struck.
“He turned around and swung out, he was surprised when he found out it was a woman he had caught across the face.”
But Mr Carr added that because of his record, Jackson had a propensity for violence and losing his temper.
Magistrates gave him a community order for 12 months, including 100 hours of unpaid work.
They also ordered him to pay £100 compensation to Miss Ambler.
