Bassetlaw thug’s unprovoked blow left victim facing dangerous surgery
A Bassetlaw thug who fractured his victim’s eye socket and jaw with a single unprovoked blow left him needing "dangerous" reconstructive surgery which could have blinded him, a court has heard.
Paul Ormond became angry and squared up to the man after he refused to phone a mutual friend in the Turks Head, in Retford, at 8pm on July 6 last year.
He cocked his fist, shifted his weight and hit the man in the face, knocking him to the floor, said Ashley Whitcher, prosecuting.
It was a “single blow by a powerful individual” and there was “a significant disparity” between the sizes of the two men.
The last thing his victim remembered was seeing Ormond “turn as if he was going to walk away” before he was hit.
A scan revealed two fractures to his left eye socket and fractures to his upper jaw and nasal spine.
A surgeon at Rotherham hospital told him the operation to put multiple plates into the left side of his face to reconstruct the damaged bone was “dangerous” and could have caused disfigurement and blindness.
He needed more surgery to have his jaw realigned, lost nearly a stone because he was unable to eat solid food, and lost thousands of pounds in earnings.
“All in all it has been several weeks of hell for me,” he said. “I know that I don't look like I did before and I feel really down about it.”
The court heard Ormond has three previous convictions for violence, dating back to 2005, and was also convicted of affray last year.
A probation officer said Ormond drank ten pints of lager while watching football. He described his actions as “extremely disgusting” after watching CCTV of the attack.
She said the father-of three posed a “serious risk to members of the public.”
Nick Ward, mitigating, said Ormond was remorseful and deserved credit for his guilty plea. He suffered a nervous breakdown last year but has taken steps to tackle his alcohol misuse.
Ormond, 38, of Carolgate, Retford, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on February 20.
On Thursday, magistrates decided their sentencing powers were insufficient as the offence has a two-year starting point. He was bailed to Nottingham Crown Court for sentence on April 3.