Man who fractured victim's eye socket jailed

A man who attacked a victim in a lane in the Manx capital leaving him with a fractured eye socket has been jailed for 16 months.

Anthony McCabe, 33, punched the victim several times in Esplanade Lane in Douglas in the early hours of 8 April after meeting him for the first time on a night out.

Douglas Courthouse heard McCabe's behaviour had been "erratic" and his father had told him to apologise after he spilt the victim's beers at a bar earlier.

Jailing him, Deemster Graeme Cook said it was an "appalling act of thuggery on a vulnerable man".

The court was told McCabe's father and the victim had been chatting throughout the night at Jaks in Douglas.

At one point the 33-year-old put his hand on the face of the victim, who pushed him away and said "no need, we are all friends here", the court heard.

However, McCabe attacked the man while he was walking towards the Marmaris kebab shop on Douglas Promenade, punching him four times in the face while was on the ground.

The court heard a resident in a nearby flat had called the police at 01:40 GMT after witnessing part of the attack.

Officers found the victim, who had been left with a fracture to his left eye socket and double vision, on the ground in the lane, the court was told.

McCabe was later arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to inciting grievous bodily harm.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the man said he had experienced a number of headaches and suffered from anxiety and nightmares since the assault and could no longer walk in the dark or go anywhere alone.

Jailing McCabe, Deemster Cook said: "People should be able to go out in Douglas or elsewhere on the island in safety."

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