Shrewsbury pub attack victim was head-butted, kicked and choked unconscious

"Violent" Sean Bateman, 29, butted the victim at The Bull's Head in Castle Gates, Shrewsbury, before Edmund Welsby grabbed him around the throat and kept him in a choke-hold until he passed out.

Bateman then kicked him in the head before being escorted out of the pub as the victim lay injured.

Shrewsbury Crown Court was told that the victim heard a commotion between Bateman and his female partner, so approached to ask if she was okay.

Bateman, of Greenfields Gardens, Shrewsbury, headbutted and punched him, before Welsby, 25, got involved.

When the victim came round, he noticed blood on his face, and had to go to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital the next day due to trouble swallowing and breathing.

Both men pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm in relation to the incident, which happened on November 25, 2019.

The court heard that Bateman was upset at the time due to the death of his grandfather, but had shown remorse and had given up alcohol.

Stephen Scully, defending Welsby, said he wrongly thought the victim was the aggressor, and stepped in to help his friend. He added that Welsby, who has Asperger's Syndrome, tried to replicate a restraining technique he had seen used in prison.

Judge Anthony Lowe told both men that their actions were "wicked", and that Welsby could have been seconds from causing the victim permanent brain damage.

"The attack in the pub is everything everyone dreads is going to happen. It puts every single person in a nightmare scenario. This complainant did the right thing. He intervened and ended up being head-butted, put on the floor and kicked for good measure. It was a wicked thing to do."

He sentenced them both to 34 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months. Both were also ordered to pay £350 compensation.

Welsby, of St George's Street, Shrewsbury, was also sentenced for three breaches of a restraining order taken out by his ex-partner.

Since the order was made in 2014, Welsby has breached it 13 times. He was given a one-year consecutive jail term for each of the three breaches, suspended for two years.