Malton man jailed for over 2 years for wounding causing "severe" facial injury to victim

Lee Bishop, 43, punched the victim repeatedly and then struck him in the face with a broken dinner plate, causing a wound so severe he resembled “somebody with a cleft palate”, York Crown Court heard.

The victim, who was named in court, was soaked in blood and taken to York Hospital where he had seven stitches applied to a wound which ran from his lip to his nose, said prosecutor Rachael Landin.

She said that residents and families were enjoying the warm summer weather at a street party in the cul-de-sac where Bishop and the victim’s partner lived.

Spirits were high, but later in the night the “jovial” atmosphere began to sour due to some of the party goers drinking “to excess”.

“Various people began having tense discussions,” added Ms Landin.

Bishop and the victim had a “disagreement” and were suddenly “face to face”.

“(The victim) appeared to be in the defendant’s face and against his chest,” said Ms Landin.

Bishop, who drank two litres of spirits, initially “didn’t appear to react”, but then two women at the party started arguing and shouting at each other.

Bishop and the victim intervened and “shortly after that, (Bishop) pushed (the victim) and punched him (in the) mouth”.

The victim fell backwards and was then punched twice more by Bishop who was “screaming” at him.

The violence, which started near the doorway of the victim’s partner’s house, continued inside the property.

Bishop grabbed hold of the “dazed and scared” victim and pulled him into the kitchen.

The victim hit his head on a wall-mounted boiler and was pushed against a worktop.

“(Bishop) continued to shout incoherently at him,” said Ms Landin.

“(The victim) asked him to get off but instead (Bishop) took hold of a dinner plate, smashed it and used the smashed piece of crockery to cut (the victim) above his lip.

“(The victim) was bleeding profusely and the defendant punched him a further two or three times to the rib and chest area, before walking away.”

Police were called and when officers arrived, they found blood splattered on the walls of the property.

Bishop, of Plough Court, Malton, was arrested and charged with wounding with intent.

The victim, who was “very drunk”, had an eye injury and a “large” cut from the top of his lip to his nose.

One of the officers at the scene said he “looked like somebody with a cleft palate”.

He had seven stitches applied to the wound which would result in permanent scarring.

He also suffered bruising to his chest, eye and cheek and a damaged tooth.

Bishop, who lived next door to the victim’s partner, appeared for sentence today (November 15) after pleading guilty to the offence.

In a statement read out in court, the victim said that since the attack on July 10 last year he had “become a different person, someone I don’t recognise”.

“My wounds may fade but the effect this has had on my nerves and emotions will last forever,” he added.

His lip scar had made him self-conscious and he had to pay for a tooth implant to replace the one damaged in the attack.

He had lost all his confidence and was now nervy in crowds.

Kevin Blount, for Bishop, said the father-of-four had no recollection of the incident due to the amount he had drunk but fully accepted what he had done.

He said that neighbours and family insisted that such behaviour was “out of character” for Bishop, who was remorseful and had previously got on well with the victim.

He said the inevitable jail sentence would have a “huge impact” on Bishop’s family.

But Recorder Tahir Khan KC said the “gravely serious” offence could only be met with an immediate jail sentence.

He said it was effectively an “unprovoked assault” and that Bishop had used the smashed plate “as a weapon to inflict a severe (injury)”.

“I’m satisfied that there is long-lasting emotional harm caused to (the victim),” added Mr Khan.

Bishop was handed a two-and-a-half-year jail sentence, of which he will serve half behind bars before being released on prison licence.