A THUG who struck a Herefordshire pub landlord over the head with a car jack, leaving him covered in blood, has been told to pay more than £2,500 in compensation.

The “violent attack” by Joseph Haydn Preddy, 23, on pub landlord Peter Nottage left him in need of eight stitches and unable to work for 10 days, prosecution barrister Saleema Mahmood told Worcester Crown Court.

Mr Nottage, of The Royal Arms in Llangrove, near Ross-on-Wye, had shut the pub at 10pm on October 23, 2020, due to coronavirus restrictions, but was informally drinking with friends and family, she said.

Preddy’s girlfriend Alice Pettit then walked into the pub to ask if it was still open, to which Mr Nottage said they were not.

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But he was told later that she was still in the car park, so his wife Claire went to investigate. She returned to say she had been verbally abused by Preddy’s girlfriend who called her a “fat bi***”.

Mr Nottage then went outside as she was still there, and he noticed Preddy dressed all in black. He was then struck over the head with an object he thought was a fire extinguisher, but which turned out to be a car jack.

He fell to the floor and the couple left the scene, but witnesses said Mr Nottage was “covered in blood” with an open head wound. He was taken to hospital where he needed eight stiches to close the cut.

When Preddy was arrested at his mum’s house in the village, he claimed Mr Nottage was the instigator, saying he was “wrestling” with Alice Pettit – something not accepted by Ms Mahmood.

But in a victim impact statement, Mr Nottage said the attack was “unprovoked” and “pre-planned and pre-meditated”. Mr Nottage said he had lost £585 by having to pay staff to do the jobs he was unable to do due to his injuries.

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He admitted he knew Preddy, formerly of Chapel Field, Llangrove, due to previous incidents, including a car being driven into the pub.

Defence barrister Martha Smith-Higgins said Preddy, who now lives in Monmouth with his girlfriend, was “utterly ashamed” and wanted to apologise to the landlord and witnesses.

She said Preddy, who helps care for his 92-year-old grandfather, acted “in the heat of the moment” and used excessive force to defend his girlfriend.

After pleading guilty to one count of unlawful wounding on the day of a trial, Judge Martin Jackson sentenced him to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years.

In court on Tuesday, the judge said Preddy went beyond reasonable defence of his girlfriend, assaulting a landlord outside his home and workplace.

Preddy must also carry out 240 hours of unpaid work, and was made subject of a restraining order to stop him going to The Royal Arms as well as contacting Peter and Claire Nottage.

He was also made subject of a four-month curfew to be at home from 9pm until 6am.