A woman was left blind in one eye after a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ bully hurled an ornament at her face in a drunken rage.
Gina Wignall from Birkenhead, Merseyside, was left with life-changing injuries after Paul Reid brutally attacked her.
The 47-year-old Reid from Birkenhead, Merseyside was described as being a “Jekyll and Hyde” with a terrible temper, LancsLive reported
He was the partner of Ms Wignall’s sister and left her fearing whether she might lose her eye.
Lancashire Police are yet to release a mugshot of the criminal who was jailed for 28 months for his vicious attack.
Reid’s former partner of 17 years, Jacquie O’Regan, 58, and her 52-year-old sister, Ms Wignall spoke about the terrifying scary side of the “charming Irishman” who unleashed his brutal violence on Gina in July 2020.
Despite his “charming” character, when Reid drank the sisters said he would become controlling and argumentative.
Jacquie said: "I got to the point where I stopped going out with him.
"Every time there would be something at the end of the night, an argument with a taxi driver or some kind of disagreement."
On July 26, 2020, their family planned a get-together at the sisters' houses.
The men of the family, including Reid, gathered at Jacquie’s house and the two sisters and their mum at Gina’s.
Jacquie said: "The lads were there enjoying the music, we were having a glass of wine. It was a lovely evening in both houses."
Then, around midnight, after Reid bared his bum to the group, the sister’s parents decided to leave.
Jacquie said: "Paul saw them out to the taxi and when he appeared, it was like a different person had come into the room.
“He was edgy, confrontational and wanted a row. He clapped his hands together and said 'right.... what the f*** is all this Black Lives Matter?' It was like, 'here we go... Let's start'."
Reid continued to rant about the church, and about the singer Prince, who he was putting obscene allegations against.
Gina described the situation as "heated" and she said: "My brother Eugene left and myself, my other brother Adrian and my nephew Jack went back to my house but I could hear Jacquie next door saying 'don't push me.'"
Jacquie questioned him on why he "ruined a lovely evening".
She said: "He was right up to me and he was that angry there was spit coming out of his mouth and he was shouting at me.
“He pushed me and he'd never been physically violent to me before.
"It was a shock. I said 'do not push me' and he did it again.
“Gina, my brother and my nephew were stood on the patio next door and they could hear me shouting."
Gina refused to leave her there and she said: "I went back in and said to him 'enough. Just stop."
Reid grabbed Gina by her top and threw her on the sofa, punching her.
Her brother Adrian pulled her to safety and her nephew Jack restrained Reid.
As things seemed to calm down, Jack released Reid but he jumped up and grabbed an ornament from the conservatory windowsill.
Jacquie said: "He pulled it back with his arm with such force, I shouted 'no'. We were in a conservatory.
"He was going to cause damage to something or someone."
As the vase hit Gina's face her vision went straight away with blood poured down her face leaving her iris was hanging from the socket on her cheek.
She said: "My world turned black. The rush of pain and the panic I felt holding my eye as the blood poured down my face will never leave me.
"I was afraid of who in my family he would harm next."
Gina was taken to Wigan Royal Infirmary before being transferred to Manchester Eye Hospital for further treatment.
Surgeons battled to save her eyeball, which had shrunk, and tried to save her sight.
Sadly she has never been able to see out of her left eye again.
In October 2020, after three operations, doctors broke the news to Gina that her sight would never return.
Jacquie described the false hope of each operation as “soul destroying” at a time their dad was dying of cancer.
On top of that, Gina had to cancel a trip to Australia to see her son and grandson because of the injuries.
The day after the attack, Jacquie spoke to Reid and told him Gina may lose her sight.
She said Reid became aggressive before packing his bags and leaving for Ireland.
Jacquie said: "I didn't see him again. A 17-year relationship, gone.
"Two weeks later he gave me an hour's notice to say he was coming to collect his stuff. There was a van outside with two lads in it waiting.
“Everything he owned, I'd packed ready to pick up. When he got home I panicked and ran to ask a neighbour to help me bring his bags to the driveway.
"Everything was bagged, labelled and wrapped. That is how conditioned I was.
"He turned up and came to the front door. He asked for his TV, and so I gave him his TV.
"He asked for the Virgin boxes, and then in this order he asked for his Nutribullet, his fridge magnets and his mugs.
"Then after that he just said, 'how's Gina?'. I said 'how dare you?'. He didn't show any remorse.
"He was cocky, right up until the sentence. How can you be like that? She was like a sister to him."
Reid never once said sorry despite claiming in court he had wanted to.
Gina is now beginning to rebuild her life, but she says the impact of the attack still looms large.
She continued: "It is simple things too. I can't put eyeshadow on because you have to close one eye and I can't see. Shaving under my arms is difficult.
"Some days I feel better but there are days when my eye hurts or it itches.
"I am just glad I have such a good family and good friends. I a just glad I have had those people to help me along the way."
Doctors have made a coloured contact lens to improve the appearance of Gina's eye, but her left eye is visibly smaller than her right.
She said: "I feel self-conscious and embarrassed, especially after a male colleague who saw me said, without meaning any harm, 'you eyes were one of your best features.' That hurt so much. "
Gina has been left so frightened by the attack she has had extra security fitted to her home and a direct police notification alarm installed.
She said: "The one thing I always said was 'when I die they can take everything except my eyes.' I used to have lovely, big brown eyes. Not anymore."
Gina said: "I'm glad he has got justice. I'm glad he will have this on his record.
"His aggressive, threatening, bullying behaviour is what put him in jail, while I am left with monocular vision, scarring to my face and a whole new lifestyle to adjust to."
Jacquie added: "He presented himself as a professional.
"He was a good forklift instructor and people liked him, but they didn't see this other side of him. It was laid bare in court. He was like Jekyll and Hyde."
