A South Shields man has avoided an immediate prison sentence after striking another man in the neck with a glass bottle during an altercation in a park, causing a deep wound and significant bleeding.
Mark Seff, 49, of Pine Avenue, pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful wounding at Newcastle Crown Court. He said he had acted in self-defence but accepted his actions went beyond what was lawful.
Altercation Over Money for Drugs
The court heard that Seff was involved in an altercation with a man known to him on April 8 this year in South Shields. The other man approached Seff and his partner and asked for money to buy drugs. The demand was refused, and the couple went into a shop to buy cigarettes.
When they came out, the man was waiting outside and asked for money again, becoming aggressive. As the group made their way to a park, with the other man drinking whisky and Seff drinking vodka, another demand for money to buy drugs was made. The man then attacked Seff, striking him on the head, and Seff fell to the ground. His attacker then began going through his pockets.
Bottle Attack and Injury
At that point, Seff picked up a glass bottle and hit his attacker in the neck. The glass broke, and blood began spurting from the wound below the ear. A passing couple stopped to help and called an ambulance.
The injured man was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where he received treatment and was discharged two days later. Recorder Richard Stubbs described a triangular-shaped wound below the ear lobe and a substantially deep wound behind the ear.
Sentence and Rehabilitation
Recorder Stubbs sentenced Seff to nine months in prison, suspended for 18 months, with a probation requirement. He acknowledged Seff's regret and remorse, noting that Seff had been on remand in custody and had successfully avoided substance misuse, being on a substance-free wing.
Recorder Stubbs told Seff the incident only occurred due to the other man's aggression that day. He said: "I accept that you genuinely regret your actions. You can take steps to deal with your alcohol misuse and you desire to engage productively with probation in the future. You present a realistic prospect of rehabilitation."
Seff had previous convictions for offences including common assault, battery, and drunk and disorderly. He accepted responsibility on the basis that it was self-defence that had gone beyond what was lawful.
