A holidaymaker committed an ‘impulsive and reckless’ act by hitting a stranger over the head with a gin bottle, a court heard.
Sinan Aljanabi, from Blackburn, came into contact with the victim during a night out in Ulverston, Cumbria, on September 6, 2023, Preston Crown Court heard.
Daniel Ingham, prosecuting, said the 30-year-old was drinking at the Piel Castle pub with his girlfriend at 11pm, when he began talking with another man and his partner in the beer garden.
“They were on holiday in the Lakes and invited the couple back to their Airbnb to continue drinking,” Mr Ingham said.
“There was a positive atmosphere with the parties consuming toffee vodka shots.”
The court heard the drinking stopped when the victim and his partner went outside for a cigarette.
Mr Ingham told the court the defendant struck the complainant on the head with a gin bottle, which smashed upon impact when he re-entered the property.
The attack left the victim with blood on his face, requiring intervention at Furness General Hospital.
He was given stitches under a general anaesthetic the following day, the court was told.
In police interview, Aljanabi told officers: ‘I will save you the time. I have bottled a guy.
"There was not any intent behind it. We were getting on like a house on fire.
"I don’t have a clue why I did it. You do not need to get any forensics involved.’
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An MRI scan showed the victim had not been left with any permanent brain injury.
In his victim impact statement, he said: "I’m cautious with who I make friends with now.
" I feel anxious in spaces where I don’t know people that well.
"There was a small scar on my head for several months afterwards. It took around two weeks for the skin to heal. It made me feel self-conscious every time I looked in the mirror."
Aljanabi, 31, of Romney Walk, had previous convictions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm in 2016 and, most recently, two counts of assaulting an emergency worker in March 2023.
He was sentenced in court on January 20 after pleading guilty to unlawfully and maliciously wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent (section 20).
In mitigation, his barrister Julie Taylor said her client had turned his life around.
“He has had a quite remarkable turnaround,” she said.
"He is now married and has a one-year-old child. It has changed his life. He will work with probation.”
Judge Richard Archer described the offending as an ‘impulsive and reckless act’ before ordering Aljanabi to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and 10 rehabilitation days as part of a 12-month sentence suspended for one year.
He also ordered the defendant to pay £1,000 in compensation to the victim.
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