15 January 2023 , 09:37
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A hotel manager suffered a fractured neck after being attacked by the husband of a cleaner for criticising the standard of her work.
David James, 35, has been jailed for 12 months after a vicious act of 'thuggery'.
He attacked Jonathan Buck, 49, the manager of the two-star Silver Strand on the Promenade in Blackpool following a row, LancashireLive reports.
Preston Crown Court heard James' partner Sonia had previously been employed as a cleaner but had been sacked over the standard of her work.
Mr Buck agreed to give her another chance but received complaints from visitors over the cleanliness of their rooms.
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He checked and noticed a number of rooms, which had been cleaned by Mrs James were not up to scratch, and went to her home to discuss it.
Jonathan Buck suffered a fractured neck after the row in Blackpool (Facebook)David Clarke, prosecuting, said Mr Buck told Mrs James "quite strongly" that her work was not good enough, and told her to go back to the hotel to do the job properly.
He warned her if there were any further issues, she would be sacked.
At 5pm, Mr Buck was in the Bull pub with a friend when Mrs James' partner David walked in, and asked to speak to him outside. The two men went to the front door, where Mr Buck explained he was concerned poor standards would reflect on him.
"The red mist descended on the defendant and he hit out at Mr Buck", Mr Clarke said. He struck him repeatedly to the head and kicked his legs from under him, knocking him to the ground. On the floor, James got on top of Mr Buck and continued the attack until other customers at The Bull dragged him away.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Mr Buck noticed he had bruises to his arms and cuts to his face and elbow. His neck and back were sore, but he didn't think his injuries required hospital treatment, Mr Clarke said.
However the following morning, Mr Buck woke up in agony and an X-ray revealed he had a fractured vertebra in his neck. Doctors said he was extremely lucky his injuries did not leave him paralysed, or worse, Mr Clarke added.
James, of Brighton Avenue, Blackpool, was arrested and told the custody sergeant he had "kicked the s*** out of Mr Buck, and would do it again. In interview he admitted he had drunk 10 pints and two bottles of lager and had been "stewing" about the way the hotelier had treated his partner.
He said Mr Buck had been shouting outside their home and 'frogmarched' Mrs James back to the hotel - ignoring her when she said the poor work was carried out by a new, younger, cleaner. He said he went to speak to Mr Buck, but during the conversation he was smirking and the red mist descended.
Hugh Mckee, defending, said: "This was not a planned attack. It was borne out of whatever was said at the time and Mr Buck's reluctance to accept responsibility." He added the defendant was extremely remorseful for his actions and has stopped drinking since the attack.
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In a victim impact statement, Mr Buck said before the attack he was fit and healthy and had never even broken a bone However as a result of his injuries he had to wear a neck brace for five weeks and was unable to carry out basic manual jobs at the hotel, such as moving beer barrels or carrying laundry downstairs.
He was unable to walk to the shop 10 minutes away and had to get taxis, and relied on friends to take him to appointments at Royal Preston Hospital as he was too afraid to use public transport, he said. He felt paranoid and unable to perform as a DJ. When he went out socially he was in fear of being approached and attacked, he added.
The court heard at James has a number of previous convictions for violence and at the time of the attack was under investigation for an attack on his partner - which he later admitted.
Sentencing, Recorder Imran Shafi said: "This was an appalling act of thuggery. Mr Buck describes significant physical, social and psychological after effects of that assault on him. Thankfully the situation now appears to be vastly improved for Mr Buck. We are all thankful of that."
James pleaded guilty to section 20 wounding. Recorder Shafi said the incident was so serious that only a sentence of immediate imprisonment was justified, and jailed him for 12 months.