Teen repeatedly punched married man to face during dispute over noise

A Derbyshire teenager left a married man hospitalised when he repeatedly punched him to the face as they struggled on the ground. Derby Crown Court heard how Reid Straw “overreacted” having been drinking when he delivered the flurry of blows to the victim who had gone to a house to complain about noise.

The 19-year-old’s attack broke the man’s nose and left him with bruising. Now, he has been ordered to pay the man £2,000 compensation as part of his punishment after admitting responsibility for assaulting the man he mistakenly believed was “an intruder” at his friend’s address - despite actually being a neighbour.

Handing him a 12-month community order, Judge Martin Hurst said: “You very quickly got the better of an older man and it turned into a scuffle. You hit him and you both went to the floor.

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“You got up and you then delivered 12 punches where you hit him to the face and head in a short period of time. But I accept that you then quickly realised what you did was wrong, apologised and tried to put things right.”

Jemma Stanford, prosecuting, said the attack happened in Ormsby Road, Chesterfield, in the early hours of March 7, this year. She said the victim heard banging coming from a neighbouring house and worried that it might wake his wife, who was asleep and was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer, went round and knocked on the door which was opened by Straw.

The prosecutor said: “The complainant accepts he banged on the window and then shouted ‘open the f****** door’ and took hold of the defendant’s jacket. A struggle ensued between them during which the defendant repeatedly punched him to the face.

“The victim’s wife came out to help, having found him on the floor. He went to hospital where a CT scan showed he had suffered a broken nose.”

Miss Stanford said Straw, of Cheviot Way, Chesterfield, was arrested and in interview said he did not know the victim and “simply thought he was an intruder who might have a knife” He pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and has no previous conviction of any kind. Siward James-Moore, mitigating, said: “He was confronted at 1am by what he thought was a strange man at the front door and overreacted.

“He was 18 at the time and these proceedings have had a salutary effect on him. He is a man of previous good character who works for a fire extinguisher refurbishment company.

“It is just punches, it was a flurry of them but it was spontaneous and short-lived.”

As part of the community order, the judge ordered Straw to carry out 180 hours unpaid work. He also ordered him to pay the compensation and a further £400 court costs.