Woman who went to aid of clubber lost two teeth after being hit by man in brutal assault in Wigan

Nathan Hughes was this week beginning a six-month jail sentence for the vicious, early hours attack on the woman last summer.

Wigan and Leigh magistrates heard that the incident happened outside Pop World on King Street, at 3am on August 30.

The woman came out of the club and heard a couple arguing.

The bench was told that when she tried to calm things down, Hughes turned his anger on her and punched her in the head.

The blow knocked the victim to the ground and, with blood pouring from her mouth, she realised that two of her teeth had been broken.

Justices said that in the aftermath, the victim needed the help of an emergency dentist.

Appearing by video link because of the Covid-19 lockdown, 31-year-old Hughes, of Wellesley Place, Worsley Hall, pleaded guilty to causing his victim actual bodily harm.

Sending him to prison for 26 weeks, the bench said that aggravating factors had included the fact that his victim was female, that his single punch had led to the loss of teeth, and also the location and timing of the offence.

It was also noted that Hughes had a poor criminal record, which included offences of violence, and that he had been recalled to prison for a previous matter.

He was ordered to pay the woman £100 in compensation but was spared a victim surcharge because the hearing was told that he had insufficient means to pay for that as well.

A message from the Editorial Director, Gillian Parkinson:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy when you pop out for your essential shop or subscribing for delivery.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

You can subscribe for delivery by contacting us at [email protected] or calling us on 0330 4033004 for details of a participating newsagent near you.