Young men who get into fights after drinking are ‘literally dicing with death’, a Crown Court judge has warned after hearing of an assault in Haverfordwest.

Liam Price, 23, of Waterloo Caravan Park, Pembroke Dock appeared before Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday February 15 for sentence on a charge of wounding/causing grievous bodily harm without intent.

He had previously pleaded guilty at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court to the offence, which saw  university student Miles Morgan suffering a broken ankle after being knocked to the ground by a single punch from Price.

The unprovoked assault, which was captured on CCTV, took place at around 2.30am in Castle Square, Haverfordwest on July 31, 2021.

It followed another assault by companions of Price on two other men.

READ MORE

Mr Morgan said in a victim statement that his injury resulted in him spending three months in plaster and a boot and had resulted in a negative effect on his mental health as he had to study remotely and could not play football.

In Price’s defence, the court heard that he had no previous convictions and had given his ‘sincere apologies’ for his action.

“The assault was a momentary lapse and he in no way set out to commit this offence,” his barrister said.

A pre-sentence report on Price said that he was a carer for his father, who had mobility problems and ‘a multitude of illnesses’, and he was fearful that if he was sent to prison he would not be able to continue this care.

On the night of the offence, he had ‘taken a rare opportunity to relax and enjoy himself away from the heavy burden of responsibility of caring for his father’, his defence continued.

“He was intoxicated and out of control but he has learnt his lesson that alcohol has an effect on his consequential thinking.”

Judge Walters told Price that only that week he had sent a man to prison who had punched someone – but the difference was, the victim had died.

“If your one punch had killed someone, I would be sentencing you in double figures,” he assured.

Warning Price that he had had ‘a lucky escape’, he gave him an eight month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered him to carry out five days’ rehabilitation activity and 200 hours unpaid work.

He made no order for compensation because it did not appear that Price ‘had the means’.

He told Price: “There is no justification for what you did, none at all.

“Young men drink far too much and are out in the dead of night, congregating like pack animals, throwing their weight around and dicing literally with death.”

He told Price: “There is no justification for what you did, none at all."

We passionately believe in the value of good, trusted journalism. If you share that belief, you can experience the benefits of unlimited advert-light news access from journalists you know and trust on your favourite devices - subscribe today HERE.

With a digital subscription you will experience up to 80% less advertising, this means faster loading pages and ultimately a much better user experience. You can also sign up for our free daily newsletters HERE.