Cabbie caged for head-butt outside pub

TAXI driver Stephen Barnett has been jailed after he head-butted a man in a town centre leaving him with a broken skull and permanently deaf in one ear.

The 47-year-old also racially assaulted a police officer in a separate incident months later.

He was yesterday jailed for a total of 15 months.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard Barnett went into the Golden Lion pub, in Newcastle, on October 9 last year and saw Andrew Humphries with his friend Jason Gentry.

Mr Humphries and Barnett's ex-wife had been in a relationship but had split in September, although they remained good friends.

Prosecutor Robert Price said an atmosphere developed between Barnett and Mr Humphries.

“When the parties went outside, Barnett and his ex-wife started to argue. Mr Humphries went over. Barnett head-butted him in the face with great force,” said Mr Price.

“The blow caused Humphries to fall to the pavement. He was unconscious. Mr Gentry intervened and punched the defendant fearing he was going to kick Humphries.”

The court heard Mr Humphries sustained three fractures to different parts of his skull and has permanently lost his hearing in his right ear. He was in hospital for six days following the assault.

While on bail for that offence, Barnett racially assaulted a constable and caused criminal damage to a police car.

The court heard that at 3am on February 4, PC Gary Lees and another officer attended an address in Newcastle after receiving a report of a disturbance.

They arrived to see the defendant in a front garden shouting up to a girl in the upstairs window.

“The officers asked him to stop shouting,” said Mr Price.

“He carried on. The officers went in the house and spoke to the girl who said the man was her stepfather and he was trying to get in the house and she was frightened because her mum was out”.

The court heard Barnett shouted racial abuse at PC Lees. The officer delivered a defensive punch because he thought Barnett was going to hit him.

Barnett continued shouting racial abuse and in the police car he spat at the officer and kicked out several times, damaging the door.

Barnett, of Severn Drive, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm, racially aggravated common assault and criminal damage.

Jason Holt, defending, said Barnett was realistic and knew prison was the likely outcome.

Judge Ross Duggan jailed Barnett for 12 months for the grievous bodily harm and three months to run consecutively for the racially aggravated common assault on the officer.