A man is still awaiting a skull reconstruction seven months after he was punched and collided with a gambling machine in a Scunthorpe bar.
Surgeons at a neuro-surgical ward at Hull Royal Infirmary saved the life of the man by removing part of his skull to reduce pressure on his brain.
It had severely swollen in the injury when he was punched by Callum Crossland, 32, of West Street, Scunthorpe. The victim spent three months in hospital before he was able to return home.
At Grimsby Crown Court, Crossland admitted causing grievous bodily harm to his victim after a row over a pool table at Schnapps bar in Frodingham Road, Scunthorpe. He also admitted assaulting a police officer when he was arrested.
CCTV which captured the single “almighty haymaker” blow in the bar was shown to Judge Gurdial Singh. The judge wanted to know how the victim was progressing after the life-saving surgery.
Prosecutor, Michael Masson said the elective surgery to reconstruct his skull has a waiting time of six months, according to a letter the patient received in October. Mr Masson said the pool player was being abusive around 11pm on May 23, this year and was invited to leave by door staff.
As he was leaving, Crossland rushed across the dance floor of the bar and punched him once. As he fell unconscious, his head hit a gambling machine. Judge Singh said: “It appeared to be gratuitous violence.”
The 20 customers in the bar were asked to leave, while emergency services responded to the critical incident. As he was responding to the incident, Humberside Police Sergeant Blow recognised the description given over his radio as a cyclist he saw from his police car.
He stopped to arrest Crossland, but the offender resisted. He was placed in a police car and continued to be aggressive and tried to slip out of his handcuffs as the police car drove along Brigg Road. He kicked at the window of the police car.
Mr Masson said officers decided, for safety reasons, to call for a police van to contain the violent offender. As he was moved to the van he kicked out at one of the police officers.
The prosecutor said Crossland had 40 previous convictions for 104 offences, many of them for violence. He said the defendant was on licence when he committed the offence. A drunk tag which had been fitted to the defendant for a previous conviction had been removed in order to test his compliance, the court heard.
For Crossland, Claire Holmes said her client’s plea was a genuine show of remorse. She said he did not intend the serious injury.
Judge Singh said: “It was an almighty haymaker. It was running across the room and swinging at him.”
He said the drunk tag which monitors alcohol abstinence had been removed days before the violent attack, while he was on licence for a previous offence. The judge said: “Whoever made that decision will rue that decision.” He jailed Crossland for two years for the grievous bodily harm offence and two months for the assault on the police officer. Both will run consecutively.
The latest conviction came on the same day as Humberside Police launched their annual Operation Yuletide advice. Leading Humberside Police response to the festive period this year is Chief Superintendent, Andy Maultby.
Among the messages of advice was a series of films highlighting the devastating impact a single punch can have. Families speak of the devastation it has caused. He said “As part of #OpYuletide this year, we are also rerunning our One Punch campaign where families affected by one punch come together to talk about how one split second decision has had a devastating impact on their lives, in the hope of sparing others the same heartache.”
You can view the films here.
Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
