The sickening moment a man stamps on clubgoer's head in unprovoked attack

CCTV footage shows the moment Matthew Bannister unleashed a flurry of punches and stamped on the head of a clubgoer during a night out. Bannister, a 39-year-old dad-of-two, was jailed for three years over the unprovoked attack outside Maesteg's Liquid Lounge.

Cardiff Crown Court heard the victim, a young man named Bryn Brooks, was out with friends at the Commercial Street bar when a woman in his friendship group began arguing with another woman. During the row, a man exchanged angry words with Mr Brooks' girlfriend. The man was an acquaintance of Bannister, who was also present and had been drinking heavily.

Bannister joined in with the row and Mr Brooks asked for his girlfriend to be left alone. He did not make any physical threat to Bannister. Mr Brooks then sat down and Bannister stood nearby, dancing. The confrontation seemed to be over but suddenly Bannister punched the sitting victim hard to the face.

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Door staff quickly intervened and removed the two groups of friends from the venue. In a mass of people outside the bar, Bannister again argued with Mr Brooks' partner. CCTV footage at the top of this page shows how when Mr Brooks walked nearer, Bannister threw a series of punches to his face and torso. He stamped on the victim's head before he was finally pulled away by others. In the words of the judge, Recorder Andrew Hammond, it was "a completely unprovoked attack on a man who posed no physical threat to you".

The victim, who blacked out during the attack, suffered wounds to his head which required gluing. The worst was a fracture to his cheekbone. He had to take five days off work and he was unable to eat hard food for three weeks or play rugby for three months. In his victim impact statement, Mr Brooks said: "I'm very nervous going out in Maesteg. I'm worried it can happen again. I have gone out once or twice and spent most of the night looking over my shoulder, wanting to go home."

Bannister, of Brynteg in Maesteg, lied to police that he had been defending himself. He then admitted unlawful wounding but pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He finally pleaded guilty to the more serious offence on the day of his trial. His barrister Andrew Taylor called for a suspended sentence, telling the judge: "He has never been before the court for any offence whatsoever. It is plain he is a man struck by remorse for what he has done. A hardworking, well thought of man, a provider for his family."

Mr Taylor asked the judge to consider that prisons are overcrowded and that "this is a prime example of a man who can be punished in the community". But Recorder Hammond said there was "simply no excuse" for the attack and noted that Bannister had pleaded not guilty until the day of trial. The judge imposed a three-year jail term of which 40% will be served in custody and the rest in the community. You can read a more detailed report on the case here.

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