Worcester boxing coach jailed for attack that left man in a coma

Jonathan Shaw was jailed for three years in dramatic scenes at Worcester Crown Court on Friday as his victim, Dave Paul Hannay, challenged his former friend's account of that fateful night.

Shaw admitted grievous bodily harm (section 20) but on a basis that the complainant had tried to fight him and had threatened to stab him.

However, after a trial of issue, the judge rejected the defendant's account.

CCTV of the incident outside Keystones in Worcester in the early hours of November 3, 2019 was also played in court.

Shaw, 30, of Mendip Close, Malvern can be seen in a white t-shirt and a flat cap leaning on a wall outside the bar in Copenhagen Street.

Hannay, then aged 37, approaches him and the two talk. Shaw can be seen jabbing his finger in Mr Hannay's face. The defendant transfers a cigarette from his right hand to his left which the prosecution said showed at least some degree of premeditation, freeing his hand to deliver the 'devastating blow'.

Shaw throws a very quick, open-handed blow with the palm of his right hand, pivoting with his hip as he strikes the left-hand side of Mr Hannay's face.

Poleaxed and unconscious before he hits the ground, Mr Hannay lies motionless on his back, bleeding from his head, while Shaw and a mutual friend of both men, Mitchell Griffiths, leave the scene as people rush to help the injured man.

Shaw's contention was that Mr Hannay had threatened to fight him and 'stab him' and that when the victim's hand dropped to his side he delivered 'a pre-emptive strike' which he regretted, apologising when he gave evidence, saying he knew it was wrong.

Mr Hannay, a deep scar still visible on his head from where he had emergency surgery, has no memory of the attack. Watching the footage in court, he shook his head and said: "You coward."

The court heard that the two men, who had been friends, had rowed over Facebook after Mr Hannay had messaged Shaw's ex saying she should be with him, not Shaw, and there had been talk of them having a fight or straightener.

Mr Hannay denied that there had been anything indecent or inappropriate about the message but in his evidence Shaw said 'it was not a good thing to do to a friend'.

Mr Hannay said he now had a brain injury and could not recall all of what happened on the night and that some of it was 'a blank'.

He told the judge 'I can't remember names no more' and later added that sometimes he could not remember his own name.

Mr Hannay said Shaw 'kept standing there and staring at me' and had been trying to intimidate him but that he was not intimidated.

He said the blow struck by Shaw was one of the hardest type of punches thrown in martial arts and added: "It's like being hit with a sledgehammer."

Shaw, who has just become a father, said he did not know Mr Hannay was going to be out that night and said: "I didn't want to fight him."

Shaw said he had been pointing because he was telling Mr Hannay to go away.

"I didn't want to speak to him" said Shaw. The defendant estimated he was only three out of 10 on a scale of drunkenness and said he was trying to 'zone away from him'.

Shaw said: "As soon as he mentioned the word stab that was it." However, Mr Hannay said he did not use weapons and 'did not need to' having been trained in martial arts from the age of four.

The head doorman, who had in the judge's words, 'no axe to grind' and was sober at the time, said Shaw was 'tipsy' and had spoken to him of wanting to fight Mr Hannay that night. He formed the impression the defendant meant 'there and then'.

He was of the view that Shaw, not Mr Hannay, was the aggressor.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright said that Mitchell Griffiths, who had been a friend of both men, showed 'complete disregard' for Mr Hannay and walked off with Shaw, showing where his allegiance lay.

"He left him there unconscious or perhaps worse" said the judge. Judge Cartwright rejected Shaw's claim that he believed Mr Hannay had a knife with him, calling the strike 'deliberate and unprovoked'.

The impact on Mr Hannay was laid out in a victim personal statement. Because of the brain injury it is said he now suffers from lack of affection towards others, lack of empathy and no sense of taste or smell. "He describes having a life with no sense of love" said prosecutor Andrew Davison.

However, Mr Hannay has been well supported by Headway, a local and independent charity for people affected by an acquired brain injury.

Mr Hannay cannot work and suffers from fatigue and disrupted sleep, poor attention, cognition and memory and bouts of impulsivity.

Judge Cartwright told Shaw: "Mr Hannay will never be the same person again."

Shaw has six convictions for eight offences including two offences of battery from June 2015 and affray from November 4, 2015 for which he was jailed for 16 months. He was jailed for six months for people smuggling in France in 2018. Shaw has convictions for resisting a constable from April 20, 2019 and common assault on April 22, 2019.

One affray on his record was also in a pub - the Bush in Worcester on April 26, 2015.

Judge Cartwright told Shaw he was a trained boxer who knew what he was doing. He added: "You are a very violent man, habitually resorting to public violence."

Despite saying he was remorseful, the judge said Shaw's decision to walk off and leave Mr Hannay lying on the ground showed that was 'far from it'.

The judge also told Shaw that he had exchanged messages with Mr Hannay arranging to fight, adding: "You simply can't get more pre-meditated than that."

Shaw was on a qualifying curfew, the equivalent of 237 days which will count towards his sentence. He must serve half the total sentence in custody and half on licence in the community.

Although he was not required to consider whether Shaw was dangerous, the judge warned Shaw: "If you carry on like this you will probably kill someone one day and it will be a different sort of sentence altogether."

Shaw shouted 'love you bab' to his partner as he was led downstairs by dock officers.