Two boat owners threw punches at one another in a fight by the River Trent. The pair were sat on their boats at Trent Bridge when it was the victim who was abusive to Neil Brice.
Nottingham Crown Court heard on Wednesday, March 30, Brice then got the better of his victim and repeatedly punched him on the ground, causing a fracture in his face on July 30, 2020. It left the injured man with depression and anxiety, and led him to make changes to his life.
Judge Steven Coupland described what happened as, "excessive self-defence", and impulsive. There had been mooring arguments between them over the years, and the judge said it was plain there was no "love lost between them" before this incident.
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Brice, 55, a seasonal ice cream seller, of Lynncroft, Eastwood, was sentenced for wounding his victim. He was given a nine month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and 150 hours of unpaid work. The judge said they had both thrown punches towards one another.
"It may have been you were acting in self-defence," he told Brice. "You are here because there came a point you were not acting in self-defence. You got the better of him. He was on the ground and you repeatedly punched him to his face, which left a fracture to his face, and caused depression and anxiety on his part, and led him to making changes to his life".
And he said Brice had demonstrated, "this was an aberration, rather than the person you usually are. You have pleaded guilty".
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