Overview

• Richard Gathercole pleaded guilty at Grimsby Crown Court to assault after delivering a single punch to a drunk man exposing himself on a Winterton street and handed himself in the next day
• The victim suffered a fractured skull and brain bleed and was treated at Hull Royal Infirmary before discharging himself after what the judge called a remarkable recovery
• Judge Richard Woolfall described the blow as “significant” and potentially life-threatening during sentencing on July 12
• Gathercole received an 18-month prison term suspended for two years along with 15 days of Rehabilitation Activity Requirement
• Defence barrister Julia Baggs cited Gathercole’s immediate aid to the injured man and his voluntary surrender as key mitigating factors in securing the suspended sentence