A man used a sharpened dog tag to slash his uncle’s face after a fight in a pub.
Paul Blackhurst, 29, of Knowles Street, Wigan, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday after attacking his uncle following an argument in the pub.
On December 18, 2021, Blackhurst joined his family at a party at the Jubilee Inn, in Litherland, where his uncle, William Lloyd, was also present. A court heard that the pair had a prolonged verbal altercation at the party at around 11pm, which resulted in Blackhurst striking Mr Lloyd in the face with the sharpened edge of a dog tag.
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CCTV from the pub of the incident was shown to the court, during which the men could be seen arguing, and a woman could be seen standing in-between them trying to stop the altercation. Mr Lloyd pushed Blackhurst in the chest, and he responded by spitting at Mr Lloyd’s chest, before stepping back, and consequently slashing Mr Lloyd in the face with a military style dog tag that was attached to his keys.
It could not be determined by investigators whether the edge had been sharpened purposefully or simply due to the metal being worn down. Mr Lloyd can then be seen putting his hand to his face, as blood dripped down and onto his hand.
Members of the public rushed to his aid and used towels to put pressure on the wound, and Mr Lloyd removed his own shirt and held it to his face. The wound has since healed fully but has left him with an “irreversible and significant scar”.
The court also heard that Mr Lloyd had made disparaging comments about Blackhurst's uncle, who raised him, and had recently passed away. Blackhurst left immediately after the assault occurred, and police arrived around ten minutes later.
Mr Peter Killen, prosecuting, told the court that the uncle and nephew met up the next day, where Blackhurst apologised and the pair reconciled. Mr Lloyd did not cooperate with police, and initially told them he did not know who had hurt him.
He later conceded it was his nephew, Blackhurst, but did not want to press charges or cooperate with the investigation. This resulted in a police callout to the public to find Blackhurst but he was not arrested until six months later, on June 23.
He pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, and was sentenced to three years and nine months in jail for the assault.
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