Bury St Edmunds tattooist given community order for assault in bar

A self-employed tattooist from Bury St Edmunds has been given a community order for attacking a man with a glass in a bar.

Michael Asker, 24, of Sherborne Road, was given a 12 month community order and told to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work after admitting a charge of common assault during a hearing in King’s Lynn today.

But, when sentenced, he was told he was “very fortunate” he was not facing a more serious charge.

The court was told that the incident had happened in the Bar 100 premises in Norfolk Street, King’s Lynn, during the early hours of May 22 this year.

Jane Foster, prosecuting, said the victim, Tom Melton had been at the bar with a friend when Asker approached him and hit him with a pint glass.

In extracts of his statement that were read to the court by Miss Foster, Mr Melton said he had initially felt what he thought was the spray of a spilt drink before he realised that he was bleeding.

He said: “I did not retaliate. I don’t event remember if I raised my hands in self-defence.

“I realised I had been bottled in an unprovoked attack.”

His friend, who was outside the bar at the time, said he saw Mr Melton “covered in blood” following the attack.

Mr Melton, who had to be taken to hospital to have his nose glued together, said he had not been drinking during the period that he was in the bar before the assault took place.

He added that the attack had also made him “think twice” about socialising in the town.

But Jakki Upton, mitigating, insisted that Mr Melton had initiated the incident himself by assaulting her client first.

She said: “As far as the defendant is concerned, it was provoked. He (Mr Melton) hit him four or five times in the head.”

Although CCTV footage of the incident was shown to the court, Mrs Upton said the assault on her client had taken place out of sight of the camera.

She added: “He (Asker) reacted. His friends held him back and he accepts it has gone beyond self-defence.”

Mrs Upton said the glass had broken before it struck Mr Melton, but her client accepted that fragments from it had caused his injuries.

In addition to the community order, Asker was ordered to pay £200 compensation to Mr Melton, £85 costs and an £85 victim surcharge.