A thug who attacked a man with a broken plate has been jailed for more than three years.

There was some dispute over whether Ross Cantwell, 34, struck his victim with a pair of scissors or the broken tableware.

But for Judge Michael Gledhill QC, who sentenced the Oxford man to 38 months’ imprisonment at Oxford Crown Court, it mattered relatively little.

Jailing him, the judge said: “What you did on the day in question was totally unacceptable and you inflicted grievous bodily harm intending to inflict grievous bodily harm on your victim.

“Whether it was a pair of scissors or a broken plate, you caused really serious injuries both to his body and his head.

“He could easily have died. That’s your responsibility, you did that to him.”

Appearing before court on Friday, Cantwell, of Warburg Crescent, Oxford, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent. The attack happened in Alice Smith Square, Littlemore, on March 12.

Together with his brother, David, 38, he had been due to stand trial on the charge. Prosecutor Jonathan Sank confirmed that no evidence would be offered to support the prosecution of David Cantwell, as brother Ross pleaded guilty.

Judge Gledhill said: “You pleaded guilty, not at the earliest opportunity but well before the trial. The consequences of that has been to save the victim having to give [evidence], it’s saved a great deal of court time and public money and the consequence substantially to your family is your brother will not be tried.

“I hope that we never see you back in front of these courts again. You should be utterly ashamed of what you did on this particular day.”

 

Alice Smith Square, Oxford Picture: GOOGLE

Alice Smith Square, Oxford Picture: GOOGLE

 

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on news@nqo.com or 01865 425 445.