By Jason Evans

Copyright walesonline

A roofer kicked a man in the head during a “melee” outside a pub smashing his victim’s cheek and leaving him unconscious on the floor, a court has heard. A judge at Swansea Crown Court told Ieuan Phillips that young men need to understand when they use violence in drink there can be serious consequences and they can cause serious harm to others. James Hartson, prosecuting, told the court the background to the incident was the defendant being ejected from the Vaults pub on Eastgate Street in Aberystwyth on January 18 this year. He said while being ejected Phillips became involved in an altercation with a doorman during which he assaulted him. The court heard the defendant then became involved in an argument with the complainant, Robert Whitehouse, outside the pub during which both parties were being held back by others present. The court heard the defendant left the scene only to return – shirtless – a short time later where both he and Mr Whitehouse were seen swinging punches at each other as a “melee” developed. The prosecutor said that during the incident the defendant was hit with an extendable baton by someone on the street dressed in biker-type clothes but said the “biker man” has never been identified or traced. The prosecutor said that during the melee the complainant went to the floor and at that point the defendant kicked him to the head, with the shin part of the leg making contact with its target. Mr Whitehouse was rendered unconscious by the kick. Phillips then left the scene. For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter The court heard the casualty was taken to Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth where a CT scan showed a complex fracture to the cheek bones and eye socket along with a broken nose. He subsequently required surgery at Swansea’s Morriston Hospital. Meanwhile the 24-year-old defendant handed himself in to police the day after the assault. Read about a rugby player who broke a man’s jaw in an attack outside a country pub In an impact statement which was read to the court by the prosecution barrister, the victim said he had long suffered with his mental health including post traumatic stress disorder which he had successfully managed for years with medication but said since the incident his self-confidence had taken a big hit and he now rarely leaves the house. Ieuan Phillips, of Trawsgoed, Ceredigion , had previously been convicted at trial of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent when he returned to the dock for sentencing. He had pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of inflicting grievous bodily harm before trial but that plea was not acceptable to the crown. He had also previously pleaded guilty to assault by beating in relation to the pub doorman. Ian Ibrahim, for Phillips, said the defendant had been out socialising with friends on the night in question when he became involved in an argument with the doorman. He said after initially walking away his client had heard someone in the area where he thought his brother was shouting “he’s got a knife” and had returned to become involved in what was conceded was an “ugly incident”. The barrister said the complainant in the case had been “offering out” members of the defendant’s group for a fight, and said at one stage had been seen being held back by others during the melee. He said “perhaps unusually”, the complainant had met the victim the day after the incident outside the police station while they both waited for it to open and he said there had been “no animosity” between them. The barrister said the defendant worked for a specialist roofing company and that references before the court spoke to a very different side to his character. Judge Geraint Walters said the background to the incident was a “brawl” both inside and outside the pub before Phillips then delivered an “almighty kick” to the complainant’s head. He said the defendant “was not the only troublemaker” at the scene on the night in question, with Mr Whitehouse “intent on violence” and a man armed with a baton “as he went about his business in Aberystwyth” who has never been traced. The judge said young men need to understand that when they use violence in drink – whether delivered by punches or kicks – there can be serious consequences to their actions, and they risk causing serious harm. Phillips was sentenced to 28 months in prison comprising 28 months for grievous bodily harm and one month to run concurrently for the assault on the doorman. The defendant will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.