Drinker who knocked-out man in after hours Kettering attack ordered to wear alcohol abstinence tag

A thug who punched an innocent man on a night out in Kettering has been given a suspended prison sentence after a judge was told how he launched the unprovoked attack following an evening of drinking.

Nathan Corstin, 27, told a court he was sorry for punching his victim who felt his head bounce of the pavement and suffered deep lacerations to his face.

The judge was told how Corstin became a different person after a drink and had a long record of offending.

A hearing at Northampton Crown Court yesterday (Thursday, December 16), was told that Corstin, of Lobelia Road, Kettering, had been seen on CCTV leaving a bar at about 4am on the morning of October 17 this year.

Prosecuting, Sarah Phelan, told the court that the victim was seen in Silver Street with a group of five men making their way to a taxi rank.

"Corstin appeared to be goading and aggressive," she said.

He threw a completely unprovoked punch at the victim who fell straight to the ground, unconscious. When he came around he was bleeding from his mouth and was dazed.

The defendant left the scene but was later arrested. He told police, erroneously, 'that's what he gets when he punches women'. He was charged with grievous bodily harm without intent.

Ms Phelan added: "He accepts the victim was the unlucky recipient of his anger on that evening. The victim was entirely undeserving of his actions."

The man received a deep laceration to his face and mouth and required stitches. He has suffered ongoing numbness, has permanent scarring and may need plastic surgery in the future.

In a victim impact statement described by His Honour Judge Rupert Mayo as 'mature', the victim said that he appreciated that it had been a 'stupid mistake' and said he hoped that Corstin felt some remorse for his actions.

The court was told that Corstin had 15 convictions for 22 previous offences dating back 13 years including common assault and knife possession.

In mitigation, the court heard that Corstin had a job in a warehouse which he would lose if a custodial sentence were imposed. His barrister Liam Muir said: "He made a stupid decision to go out that night.

"He knows he can't drink because as soon as he drinks he ends up before the courts."

Addressing the court, Corstin said: "I have struggled to eat for weeks thinking about what I did. That's not me, I'm not a criminal."

Judge Mayo said that, after trial, Corstin would have been sentenced to 14-months in prison and would have gone 'straight down the stairs'.

But because of the defendant's remorse and guilty plea at the earliest opportunity, he gave him an eight month suspended prison sentence and said that he would have to undergo alcohol abstinence and monitoring for 120 days, which involves wearing a tag to detect when alcohol is consumed. He was also told to complete 20 rehabilitation requirement days and pay his victim £1,000 in compensation, as well as £450 in court costs.