Manager at Boathouse restaurant, Toby Edgell, had glasses thrown at him in attack by Christchurch man Harvey Stuart, Bournemouth Crown Court hears

A RESTAURANT manager was attacked with three glasses, and a stone smashed into his head during a brawl which a staff member feared would kill him.

The details of the incident were revealed as Christchurch man Harvey Stuart was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court for his part in the attack.

Toby Edgell had been worried about a group of men who had entered The Boathouse in Christchurch late at night on 20th January last year.

Prosecutor Charles Gabb told the court that Mr Edgell had a "sixth sense that the atmosphere was changing" and that "something was not right".

Around 11.15pm he spotted one of the group vaping inside and told him to stop. "This," said Mr Gabb, "appeared to act as a catalyst for what happened next."

The prosecutor said one of the men approached staff member Jacob Poynter and said: "What the f*** you looking at?"

Stuart then told Mr Poynter he recognised him from the gym, delivered a homophobic slur and became aggressive.

In self-defence Mr Poynter pushed Stuart (21), from Waterford Road, who fell on the floor.

Stuart, a solar panel installer who pleaded guilty to affray, assault by beating and common assault, then got up and started to row with Mr Poynter.

Mr Edgell tried to intervene and told the defendant to "calm down", said Mr Gabb.

In CCTV shown to the court, the defendant was then seen picking up a glass and throwing it at the manager’s head.

He then threw two more glasses at him in quick succession, at which point Stuart’s group were ejected from the bar.

Outside, Stuart started pushing Mr Poynter, and Mr Edgell again tried to separate them, the court heard.

Mr Gabb said that in a desperate attempt to stop the fighting, the manager wrapped his arms around both men "a la scrum fashion" and pulled them down onto the ground.

The prosecutor said another of the group then started punching Mr Edgell before picking up an ornamental pebble, with which he hit him on the head four times.

Stuart then joined in the attack and both he and his friend gave the manager a "proper shoeing" with the victim punched and kicked in the head.

A staff member who saw the attack later told police she feared Mr Edgell was going to die.

In defence, Lucy Conroy told how the defendant had made a "catastrophic error of judgement" on the night of the attack while drunk.

She said that since then, Stuart recognised he had a problem with alcohol, had been seeing a therapist about it and was very "remorseful" for his actions.

His partner, who sat sobbing in the public gallery, had written a letter to the judge pleading for him not to be jailed because he was seeking help and was "not the person" seen in CCTV footage.

She added her boyfriend was “taking steps to turn things around”.

Sentencing Stuart to 16 months jail suspended for two years, Judge Robert Pawson added four months to the term for the homophobic comment he had made to Mr Poynter. As the defendant had pleaded guilty, this was reduced to 15 months.

He said Stuart had played a "leading role" in the attack and had used glasses as "weapons". The judge added that the staff member must have been "absolutely terrified".

He also ordered Stuart to obey a curfew between 9pm and 5am, and pay £1,000 in compensation to Mr Edgell and £750 to Mr Poynter.