Man's life 'changed forever' after his own cousin punched him outside Worksop bar

-Credit:Nottinghamshire Police
-Credit:Nottinghamshire Police


A drunk Nottinghamshire painter and decorator punched his cousin and left him with a "catastrophic" brain injury. CCTV played at Nottingham Crown Court showed Andrew Woodward run over to his victim and punch him unconscious before the man fell and hit the back of his head on the ground outside a bar.

In the clip, the 35-year-old father then went straight to help his relative but he had suffered a fractured skull. In a statement, the victim said he “struggles to get to grips that my own cousin did this to me”.

Jailing the defendant for 21 months, Judge Steven Coupland said: “It is not clear to me what happened or why it is that you and your cousin, who you got on well with, fell out and you did what you did. It is clear that both of you had been drinking and you lost control, you more than him, and you were out of control in that (initial) scuffle.

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“You then left the scene and that should have been the end of it. Your cousin then made some unpleasant threats and you should have gone but you ran back and hit him twice and hard enough that he was unconscious before his head hit the floor. The injuries caused have been catastrophic, a fractured skull and a severe brain injury which has affected many aspects of his life since.”

Samantha Warner, prosecuting, said the attack happened outside the former Lockside Bar in Victoria Square, Worksop, on the evening of November 3, 2023. She said Woodward, his cousin and others had been out drinking and an argument began.

In the footage, the defendant is seen leaving the street but then running back and punching his relative twice who falls backwards and hits the back of his head on the pavement. The prosecutor said: "The defendant did go back to assist the victim but he had suffered serious life-changing injuries.”

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Miss Warner read out two impact statements. In them he said: "This attack changed my life forever, not just for me but for all of my family members. It is heart-breaking and I struggle to get to grips that it is my own cousin that did this to me.

“My injury means I will not experience life to the fullest again and I am consumed by despair." Woodward, of Royds Crescent, Rhodesia, Worksop, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning grievous bodily harm and has six previous convictions for eight offences but nothing for 10 years.

Jonathan Dee, mitigating, said the punches were delivered after the victim made threats towards his client. He said the defendant “instantly regretted" what he did and tried to assist at the scene.

The barrister said: “The irony of this is that he had taken his cousin out that night to help him and it all went sour. I am not victim-blaming but it takes two for this to happen.

“Ultimately it was a very, very, short assault which had the effect of going far beyond what he intended.” As well as the jail term, the judge handed the defendant a five-year restraining order.