By Robert Harries

Copyright walesonline

A man walked out to his garden as his young children were playing and was punched repeatedly by a passer-by who wrongly thought he was being mocked, a court heard. On the morning of August 11 this year the victim was upstairs in his property in Glynneath while his two young children played outside the front of the house. He was gesturing to the children when he became aware of two men walking along the road, one of whom was shouting and swearing. Concerned for his children, the man went downstairs and opened the front door to see Robin Griffiths, aged 34, speaking to the children. Griffiths then accused the victim of “mocking” him. When the victim tried to explain that he had merely been gesturing to his children, he was punched in the face. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here . Having fallen to the ground, he was then repeatedly hit in the face by Griffiths who eventually stopped and said: “Now you know who I am”. Another of the victim’s children saw what was happening from inside the house and came outside. Having helped his father to his feet, he then told Griffiths that he was going to call the police. Griffiths, of Neath Road, Resolven, then walked back towards the son and “slapped him with some force to his chest”. Griffiths then made a similar comment to the young man about “knowing who he was”. The two younger children witnessed both incidents and were crying outside the property, according to prosecution barrister Ian Wright. The victim who was repeatedly punched in the attack was left with injuries described in court as “extremely distressing to look at”. Griffiths was arrested and initially said he was acting in self defence. However, he later pleaded guilty to charges of grievous bodily harm and assault by beating and appeared at Swansea Crown Court to be sentenced via video link on Thursday, October 9. In mitigation, defence barrister Kevin Seal said his client had been diagnosed with ADHD and PTSD. He said: “At the age of 18 he joined the army having had reasonable schooling and education. Having spent seven years in the army he was medically discharged with PTSD. “Unfortunately for him, his parents and his family, he was let down in many respects by what was made available to him as a veteran.” Mr Seal said the incident in Glynneath happened while Griffiths was in a “drug induced state” and added that his client’s “remorse is genuine”. Judge Huw Rees sentenced Griffiths to 20 months in prison for the attacks. He also imposed a restraining order prohibiting Griffiths from contacting the main victim for a period of five years. Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice .