Teen broke builder’s jaw in nightclub attack

19-year-old Travis Cross admitted breaking builder Ashley Wilson’s jaw after knocking him to the ground with a single punch on the dance floor at Spalding’s Loaded nightclub.

Cross, of Boston Road, Swineshead, also pleaded guilty to striking Mr Wilson’s friend, ground worker Billy King, with two further blows.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Mr Wilson, 20, was left unconscious for around 30 seconds and suffered a jaw fracture which required his teeth to be wired together for three weeks.

Mr King, 21, also suffered a cut which left a tooth protruding through his mouth.

But the court was told Mr Wilson had been sentenced to 300 hours of unpaid work in July last year for an unrelated attack on another man in Loaded nightclub where his victim’s cheekbone was fractured.

Passing sentence Judge Michael Heath told Cross it would not be fair to jail him after the sentence Mr Wilson received.

CCTV footage of the attack by Cross was shown to the court. Phil Howes, prosecuting, said both Mr King and Mr Wilson were totally off guard when the assault began.

Sunil Khanna, mitigating, said Cross had no previous convictions and felt under threat after an incident between two groups earlier in the evening, but he now accepted he could have simply left the club.

Mr Khanna added: “Mr Cross has 10 GCSEs, he works as a caravan engineer in the family business, assists at Boston rugby club and works at RAF Cranwell.”

Cross admitted charges of causing Mr Wilson grievous bodily harm and assault causing actual bodily harm to Mr King on 25 November.

He was sentenced to a 12 month community order and told to complete 300 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Judge Heath told him: “Your punch fractured the jaw of this individual.”