Roofer jailed for pub brawl head kick in Aberystwyth

A roofer has been jailed for 28 months after kicking a man in the head during a brawl outside a pub in Aberystwyth, leaving him unconscious with devastating facial injuries.

Ieuan Phillips, 24, from Trawsgoed, Ceredigion, was convicted at Swansea Crown Court of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent following the incident outside the Vaults pub on Eastgate Street on 18 January this year.

The court heard Phillips had been ejected from the pub after assaulting a doorman. He then became involved in an argument with Robert Whitehouse outside, with both men being held back by others present. Phillips left the scene only to return shirtless a short time later, where a “melee” developed with both men swinging punches at each other.

During the brawl, Mr Whitehouse went to the floor and Phillips kicked him in the head with the shin part of his leg, rendering him unconscious. The victim suffered a complex fracture to his cheekbones and eye socket, along with a broken nose, requiring surgery at Morriston Hospital in Swansea.

In an impact statement, Mr Whitehouse said he had long suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder which he had successfully managed for years, but since the incident his self-confidence had taken a big hit and he now rarely leaves the house.

The court heard a mysterious “biker man” dressed in biker-type clothes hit Phillips with an extendable baton during the incident but has never been identified or traced.

Judge Geraint Walters told Phillips that “young men need to understand that when they use violence in drink – whether delivered by punches or kicks – there can be serious consequences to their actions, and they risk causing serious harm.”

The judge said the defendant “was not the only troublemaker” at the scene, with Mr Whitehouse “intent on violence” and a man armed with a baton who has never been traced. He described Phillips as delivering an “almighty kick” to the complainant’s head.

Defence barrister Ian Ibrahim said Phillips had returned to the scene after hearing someone shout “he’s got a knife” in an area where he thought his brother was. He said the complainant had been “offering out” members of the defendant’s group for a fight. The barrister noted that “perhaps unusually” the two men met outside the police station the day after the incident whilst both waited for it to open, and there had been “no animosity” between them.

Phillips handed himself in to police the day after the assault. He also pleaded guilty to assault by beating in relation to the doorman, receiving a concurrent one-month sentence.