Sheffield thug, 36, left victim needing metal plate in his skull after punching him to the ground outside bar

Daniel Campbell, aged 36, of King Street, Chapeltown, Sheffield, had been with friends in Woody’s bar, on Orchard Street, in Sheffield city centre, before he attacked Craig Brunt outside the pub, according to Sheffield Crown Court.

Prosecuting barrister Ian West told the court on November 14 Mr Brunt had been with son Danny when they left the pub after a tense atmosphere developed following the arrival of Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United fans.

Mr West added: “Danny turned and saw a punch thrown at his father who fell to the floor and banged his head on the floor and and he could see his father bleeding from his head.” The complainant’s son confronted Campbell as his father lay on the ground, according to Mr West.

Craig Brunt needed surgery to remove bleeding on the brain and a bone flap from his skull, according to the court, and it was some time before the complainant’s speech and movement returned. He has had to wear a headguard and has been waiting for a further operation to fit a metal plate in his skull, according to Mr West.

Mr West who explained the incident was captured on CCTV said: “There is no suggestion they are being provocative or looking for a fight and they are followed out by a number of people including this defendant who reaches his way through colleagues and throws a forceful punch.”

The complainant who is a middle-aged, self-employed builder revealed he does not know how much he will recover, he struggles to sleep, has lost income and is frightened of being in public since the attack has changed his life. He added: “I am in constant fear. I almost died as a result of the assault and this haunts me to this day.”

The complainant said that on his daughter’s wedding day he walked her down the aisle wearing the headguard which reminded everyone how close he felt he had come to dying. He added: “I am a very different man and I do not foresee a day where I will return back to the way I was. The life ahead of me is very uncertain.”

Joiner Campbell, who has previous convictions including battery and affray, pleaded guilty to causing unlawful wounding after the incident on December 23, 2021. Mr West said Campbell’s antecedents showed a history of a ‘drunken, violent man’.

Rebecca Tanner, defending, said there had been a verbal argument developing between the defendant’s group and another group in the bar. Ms Tanner added that Campbell, who has alcohol problems, had gone outside because he claims someone had tried to strike him and he hit the complainant.

She said: “He’s embarrassed by his actions. He’s ashamed of what he has done and he’s found it difficult to view the footage of Mr Brunt’s head knowing he is the cause of the injury.”

Judge Peter Kelson KC who sentenced Campbell to three years of custody told him: “You landed him such a blow to his face that he fell back – possibly unconscious – striking his head upon the floor and he suffered a very, significant injury.”