A PUB-GOER was left with a life changing head injury after being pushed out of a fire door at the Greyhound in Stroud, a court heard.

Neil Churchill,21, of Fortview Terrace, Bridge Street, Cainscross. pleaded guilty to unlawfully wounding Christopher Uzzell on December 3, 2016.

Churchill was given a 15 month jail term sentence suspended for two years with 180 hours of unpaid work when he appeared for sentencing at Gloucester Crown Court on Thursday.

Judge Michael Cullum also placed Churchill under an 8pm-5am nightly curfew and ordered him to pay compensation of £1,200 to Mr Uzzell.

“You pushed Mr Uzzell after you had drunk five to six pints,” said the judge.

“You didn’t intend to injure him. You were annoyed with him and I have heard his behaviour described as irritating, if not aggressive.

“He took your intervention the wrong way and I accept you got a cut lip.

“But what you did after that was unlawful, criminal and unnecessary and has changed the course of his life.

“His behaviour and personality has been affected by the serious brain injury he received as a result of his fall, which resulted from the very firm push you inflicted on him.”

Prosecutor James Haskell said emergency services were called to the pub after reports that Mr Uzzell had collapsed.

It was only a few days later that police became involved because medics felt Mr Uzzell’s injuries were consistent with an assault.

CCTV was checked and showed Mr Uzzell falling out of the fire escape door and then being immediately followed out by several men.

Mr Haskell said a witness observed Mr Uzzell bumping into people including Churchill, who pushed him off the dance floor.

Mr Uzzell reacted by ‘swinging his arms towards the defendant,’ who was then seen to have a cut lip.

Mr Uzzell was then seen running towards the toilets, pursued by Churchill, who pushed him with both hands in the chest, causing him to fall backwards into the fire exit. Mr Uzzell fell through it, hitting his head as he landed outside.

Police were trying to contact Churchill for some time and he attended for interview on May 2 last year.

He claimed he had been assaulted by Mr Uzzell and said he reacted in self defence.

Mr Haskell said the victim suffered a skull fracture and a brain injury.

He was left with poor co-ordination and slurred speech.

The injury has put him at higher risk of epilepsy and left one side of his body weaker than the other, said Mr Haskell.

“His mood has been affected and he gets frustrated and angry more easily than he used to. He was able to go back to his self employed work by April this year but only did so out of financial necessity because his business may have disappeared if he had stayed away any longer.

“He believes he has lost in the region of £10,000 by not being able to work.”

Anna Midgely, defending, said Churchill accepted the consequences had been tragic and a ‘nightmare’ for Mr Uzzell and his family.

But she submitted that as Churchill was of previous good character and his culpability was low because he had pushed and not punched his victim and therefore the sentence could be suspended.