A DAD has been jailed after he hit a pub-goer over the head with a glass - an attack which later forced his victim to have his eye removed.

Josh Kellock was involved in the row at the Royal George pub in Purton on a summer's evening in August 2020, which saw bystanders forced to intervene.

Victim Nigel Hopgood has since had to give up his job as a driver and is “no longer the outgoing, fun-loving person he was”, Swindon Crown Court heard on Wednesday.

Kellock was jailed for 21 months by Judge Peter Crabtree OBE who said that the appropriate punishment “can only be achieved by immediate imprisonment”.

The court had been told how Kellock, now aged 34, had left the Angel pub in the village on August 7, 2020, having had a disagreement with the bar staff. He had said “f*** your pub” on leaving and arrived at the Royal George “angry and possibly thirsty”, according to prosecutor George Threlfall.

In the Royal George’s beer garden was Nigel Hopgood and his wife, who had previously had disagreements with Kellock, of Reids Piece, Purton. The couple decided to drink up and leave, but as Mr Hopgood went to the toilet, his wife and Kellock became involved in a heated argument.

Mr Threlfall said: “[Mr Hopgood] said at one point that he heard the defendant say to his wife ‘I will slit your f****** throat’. There is another witness who hears the same thing.”

When Mr Hopgood emerged, he told the assailant to get away from his wife, the court was told, and pushed him towards the gate, grabbing Kellock. But Mr Threlfall said Kellock retaliated by hitting him above the left eye with a beer glass that was in his hand.

“[Mrs Hopgood] saw her husband falling down holding his head, blood falling down his face,” the prosecutor added. “The defendant then left the pub and an ambulance was called.”

Kellock, a carpenter, was then driven to the Angel where he asked for a rolled-up piece of fabric, which the prosecution claimed was his blood-soaked t-shirt, to be placed in the bin. The court heard he tipped the barstaff £20 to change the bin liner.

“Obviously this was an attempt to dispose incriminating evidence,” Mr Threlfall added.

Mr Hopgood was rushed to Great Western Hospital, where doctors treated him for lacerations above the eye and penetration of the eye. Doctors said he had a permanent impairment of vision, and on his most recent of many visits, he made the decision for it to be removed.

In mitigation, Emma Handslip said that despite historic disagreements between her client and the victim, he had shown remorse for the injuries caused in the fight.

She told the court: “Whatever view is taken of him he is not someone who is regularly out at the pub brawling.

“He is somebody that supports his family. He is the only provider for that family.

“His work ethic is very strong. He works seven days a week. He works long hours.

“He appreciates that this is a devastating injury that somebody has to live with. He is truly sorry that somebody has had that injury.

“He also has to bear that responsibility of having a wife and four children that rely on him wondering if he will go home today.”

Sentencing, Judge Crabtree decided that the offence – a section 20 grievous bodily harm – was aggravated by a previous conviction for battery in a pub in 2018, as well as the ongoing impact on the victim and the fact it was witnessed by others.

But he added: “Nigel Hopgood made a victim statement in which he described how his whole life has changed.

“Due to the constant pain, he had to make the difficult decision to have the eye removed. He is no longer the outgoing, loving person he was.

“He had to give up his job as a driver, an employment he had for 20 years. As he says his life has changed forever.

“The appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate imprisonment.”

He was jailed for 21 months and will serve half before being considered for release.

No order for costs or compensation was made, but he will need to pay a victim surcharge.