A MAN has been jailed for glassing a bride-to-be on her Carlisle hen night – two weeks before her wedding.
Sophie Hyslop was out with friends in the city centre in August 25 when she was the subject of cruel taunts from the partner of John Percival while sat outside the Last Zebra on Lowther Street.
When door staff were informed, 32-year-old Percival and his partner were asked to leave. But Percival was then seen to pick up Miss Hyslop’s own bowl-style gin glass and smash it into her forehead. The 30-year-old nurse was left bleeding, suffered a deep cut and later attended hospital. In a statement she told how the incident caused her family “a huge amount of distress”, and of trying to explain the injury to her young children.
“I had to get married with the cut on my forehead. I had to use make up and other products to try and cover this up. This caused me huge amounts of anxiety as this was the biggest day of my life and it affected the way I looked,” she stated.
Percival, of Pennine Way, Carlisle, admitted an actual bodily harm assault, and wept during his sentencing hearing at the city’s crown court this afternoon (FRI) as his barrister gave personal mitigation and told how he was “absolutely and utterly remorseful”.
But, jailing him for eight months, Judge Nicholas Barker said of Miss Hyslop: “She had absolutely no reason to be insulted and abused, and then attacked in the way that she was. It was a disgraceful act.”
Detective Michael Gilsenan of Cumbria Police said: “Any incident involving someone using a glass as a weapon has the potential for serious injury to be caused.
“This particular incident was particularly upsetting for the victim as she was a couple of weeks from her wedding and the defendant would have had a good idea this was the case from her outfit.
“Percival’s actions that evening were extremely reckless and I hope the victim takes comfort from the sentence imposed by the court.”
