Father Attacked by Gang After Defending Daughter from Pub Abuse

A father who stood up for his barmaid daughter after she was verbally abused by customers was brutally attacked by four men at a Cwmbran pub, leaving him with a fractured jaw requiring surgery 😔

Ashley Stockwell, 24, Jake Steer, 20, Tom Payne, 25, and Jack Lloyd, 27, assaulted Sam Winter at the Dorallt Inn after his daughter experienced difficulty with a group of men who were asked to leave.

Newport Crown Court heard that prosecutor Abigal Jackson said: “The defendant’s daughter was working behind the bar and was experiencing some difficulty with a group of men who were asked to leave.”

When Mr Winter told them to “calm down”, Payne squared up to him asking: “What the f*** are you going to do about it?”

After Mr Winter pushed Payne, he was punched by Stockwell in what Judge Daniel Williams called a “cowardly blow”.

Miss Jackson revealed: “He was struck by a blow to the right side of his jaw which knocked him to the ground. Mr Winter is unable to recall anything further.”

The victim was then punched and kicked, with the violence captured on CCTV. He required surgery at Grange University Hospital to have his jaw rewired and had to pay £1,000 for new dentures.

In his victim impact statement, Mr Winter said: “I feel uneasy when I go out alone now. I rarely go to the pub.”

Judge Williams told Stockwell: “Yours was the blow it seems which caused the lasting damage and it was the one which started the violence. It was a cowardly blow.”

Stockwell, of Tolpath, Coed Eva, Cwmbran was jailed for 15 months. Steer, of Kingsland Walk, St Dials, Cwmbran received nine months suspended for 18 months and was fined £1,000. Lloyd, of Tramway Close, Fairwater, Cwmbran and Payne, of Ty Bach, St Dials Road, Cwmbran each received 12 months suspended for 18 months and must complete 200 hours unpaid work.

All four must pay a £187 victim surcharge. The attack occurred around 10pm on Saturday, August 6, 2022. ⚖️