A MOURNER grieving a close friend punched a stranger to the floor and kicked him in the head during an unprovoked attack outside a pub.

Stephen Martin set upon Dean Seymour as the victim left the New Foresters Arms for the night on Blackwood High Street last summer.

Prosecutor Steven Donoghue said the complainant was assaulted when he tried to stop the defendant arguing with his girlfriend.

He told the court how two passing police officers witnessed Martin, 26, knock Mr Seymour to the ground and kick him twice in the head.

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Cardiff Crown Court heard how the woman with him also tried to kick the victim in the head.

Mr Donoghue said: “When he was arrested, the defendant was behaving erratically. He said, ‘Bye bye, I’m going to kill myself.”

The complainant was taken to Newport’s Royal Gwent Hospital where he was treated for cuts and bruises to his head and cheek.

In a victim impact statement, he said: “I am shocked by this unprovoked attack. I was just trying to stop him arguing with his girlfriend.

“I won’t be visiting Blackwood at all in the near future.”

Martin, of High Street, Cross Keys, pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm on the evening of July 31, 2019.

Mr Donoghue said the defendant had no previous convictions.

Kevin Seal, for Martin, said: “The defendant was with people that night he is no longer with.

“He was at a public house following the suicide of a close friend and feelings were running high.”

His barrister added: “He is now drug-free and is mixing with the right people.”

Judge Daniel Williams told Martin: “You were arguing with your girlfriend in Blackwood. Mr Seymour saw the argument and tried to calm the situation down.

“You knocked him the floor and followed it up with repeated kicks to the head.

“He suffered bruising, swelling and cuts but it could have been far worse.”

The judge jailed the defendant for six months but suspended the sentence for 12 months.

He ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and undertake a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Martin must also pay £420 costs and a £122 victim surcharge.