Drunk who scarred man spared jail

A drunk who hit a Cannock man in the face with a bottle of port has narrowly escaped going to jail. Daniel Hogg swung the bottle at Mr Jake Cook, who collapsed and was taken to hospital.

"It hit him squarely in the face. The injured party only remembers being in a public house and waking up in Stafford Hospital," said Miss Jennifer Josephs, prosecuting.

As a result of the attack, Mr Cook has been left with a large scar on his face. In a victim impact statement, he said he is very conscious of it because "it makes him look like a thug" and he is constantly being stopped by bouncers who think he is a troublemaker.

Miss Josephs told Stafford Crown Court yesterday that police followed a trail of blood from the scene, a subway in Cannock town centre, and found the defendant's bank card on the floor near a cash machine.

When arrested, he told officers he had hit Mr Cook with a port bottle. He himself was drunk at the time and added that he would not have done it had he been sober.

Hogg, aged 20, of Pye Green Road, Cannock, who admitted a charge of wounding was given a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years. He was also ordered to do 300 hours unpaid community work and to pay Mr Cook £750 compensation along with £250 costs.

Mr Michael Anning, defending, said Hogg had been drinking lager, vodka and also had a bottle of port with him.