A man's eye popped out after he was hurled into a fruit machine during a sickening attack at a pub.
Kyle Dickinson continued stamping on his innocent victim's face even after inflicting the horror injury, which has blinded him for life in one eye. The thug then began boasting about his unprovoked attack by playing pranks using a fake plastic eyeball while retelling the events.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Thursday, that 54-year-old Michael Norris attended the Harbour pub on Hope Street in New Brighton, Wirral, at around 9pm on September 5 last year. David Watson, prosecuting, described him as a "local who was on good terms with the staff" and said that there was a "good atmosphere" in the bar.
READ MORE: Brianna Ghey murder trial date set as schoolchildren appear in court
A group including Dickinson, of no fixed address, then entered the premises. But a dispute erupted when Mr Norris returned from having a cigarette and sat in a seat where the defendant's friend had previously been seated.
The 30-year-old began glaring at him before taking hold of him and throwing him across the pub. The victim's face collided with a fruit machine as he fell, with his left eye connecting with the corner of the unit.
Mr Norris later described how his vision "instantly went black, as if a TV had been switched off". The force of the blow had removed this eye from its socket, and he began shouting: "My eye."
Despite his efforts to alert Dickinson to his gruesome injury, the assailant stamped on his head at least twice before bar staff shouted for him to stop. He then attempted to justify his actions by claiming: "He spat at me."
Mr Norris underwent emergency surgery after being rushed to the Countess of Chester Hospital. His optical nerve had been severed, leaving him permanently blind in his injured eye – which was temporarily stitched closed.
However, his eyeball then began to shrink and had to be removed during a further operation. Mr Norris will now need to have a prosthetic fitted, although this process could take until next year to complete.
Dickinson was arrested the following day at his then home on Desford Close in Moreton. He gave no comment under interview, but was subsequently picked out as being the attacker during an identity parade.
A friend of Mr Norris' then reported a worrying incident at the Armchair pub in Moreton a few weeks after the assault. She stated that she had seen Dickinson in the establishment, and that he had "produced a false eyeball which he placed in front of his face and joked about the injury he had suffered" and said that he "carried the eyeball around" with him.
A statement read out to the court on Mr Norris' behalf described how he is "struggling to come to terms with what took place". The laboratory technician has been off sick from work since the incident, and may lose his job of 10 years as a result.
He also described having suffered a nasty fall in late November due to his lack of depth perception, leaving him with a "shattered collar bone". Dickinson's previous convictions include being handed a suspended prison sentence for possession of heroin and cocaine only last month.
Sinead Fearon, defending, told the court that her client is a volunteer groundsman at a golf club and added: "While it was unwarranted, unjustified and unpleasant, it lasted a relatively short period of time. This was a short-lived loss of control.
"His recollection of the night in question is not entirely clear. He accepts he was under the influence of alcohol.
"He is described as a hard working, relatively young man with a strong work ethic. He accepts that is a far cry from the behaviour he displayed on September 5."
Dickinson admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent and was jailed for 28 months. He fist bumped a supporter in the public gallery behind the dock before being led down to the cells, having also been handed a restraining order banning him from contacting Mr Norris for 10 years.
Sentencing, Recorder Jeremy Laskin said: "He had done you no harm, but you took exception and commenced a wholly unprovoked attack. The injuries caused have been significant and life-changing.
"Unhappily, the optic nerve in his eye was severed and as a result he has been left with permanent blindness in his left eye. He has found it very difficult to come to terms with this injury.
"Your guilty plea would usually indicate remorse, but there is some disquieting evidence. At a time when you knew the gravity of his injuries, you were treating it as a joke and carrying a false eyeball with you."
READ NEXT: Man's secret life of crime exposed as he lay in hospital after being shot
Fraudster facing jail says: 'Bookies rob from us, so I couldn't give a f**k mate.'
Ashley Dale murder suspects Sean Zeisz and Niall Barry set to stand trial
Man rants at judge after hitting puppy and pub staff with metal stick
Attempted murder suspect could stand trial after woman stabbed with machete