David Williams (Image: Gwent Police)
Last Updated: 1 hour ago
A 41-year-old man has been imprisoned after he fractured a female footballer’s jaw in an attack outside her home in Tredegar.
David Williams was sentenced at Newport Crown Court after admitting inflicting grievous bodily harm on Laura Banks on March 1, 2024.
The attack
The court heard that Miss Banks had called Williams’ then partner, Julie Wilson, shortly before the assault. During the phone call, Wilson had been apologising to the victim over an incident the previous day.
Williams could be heard in the background asking his girlfriend: “Who’s that mouthy f*****?”
Prosecutor Alexander Greenwood told the court that within five minutes, the victim heard a car speeding down the street before it came to an abrupt stop on her driveway.
Williams jumped out and raised his fists in a boxing stance. Miss Banks initially put her fists up to defend herself but then thought better of it and lowered them.
He struck her to the face, and she described feeling a crunch and tasting blood in her mouth.
She told him: “You are a man hitting a woman.”
Williams then got back into his car and drove away.
Injuries and surgery
Miss Banks was left in severe pain with loosened teeth. A friend took her to the Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil, where a CT scan showed she had sustained a double fracture to her jaw.
She underwent five hours of surgery to have plates and screws fitted.
Impact on the victim
In her victim impact statement, Miss Banks said she had represented Wales at football but was no longer able to take part in the sport because of her injuries.
“I am always worried about bumping into Dai Williams,” she said. “I’m looking over my shoulder all the time.”
She added that she is now restricted to eating soft food and can no longer enjoy one of her favourite meals, steak. She also described experiencing electric shocks whenever her jaw comes into contact with metal.
Defence arguments
Jeffrey Jones, representing Williams, of Gainsborough Road, Cefn Golau, Tredegar, told the court his client was the “primary carer” for his mother.
“This was an act of stupidity out of a misplaced sense of loyalty,” he said. “It was an impulsive and short-lived offence.”
Sentencing
Williams has 16 previous convictions for 25 offences, including one for battery in 2010.
He entered his guilty plea on the day his trial was due to begin, entitling him to a 10 per cent discount on his sentence.
Recorder Aidan Eardley KC said the offending was so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate.
Williams was jailed for 21 months and made subject to a five-year restraining order.
