A woman was left with severe bruising across her face and chest after being attacked by a drunk man.

Dariusz Maziarski attacked his victim after she approached and slapped him, after she was told some ‘information’ about him which upset her.

The victim was pushed to the floor and kicked numerous times in retaliation, which left her with bruises and bumps on her face, chest, and scalp.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Maziarski was charged with a single count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on August 6, 2021.

On that evening at around 10.15pm, police were called to a report of an assault in Burnley at a small gathering of people from the Polish community.

Maziarski’s victim was given some information by another person in attendance which left her “quite angry”, said prosecuting barrister Bob Sastry.

She proceeded to slap Maziarski and he retaliated with violence, grabbing her by the shoulders and throwing her to the floor before kicking her several times in the face.

The victim went to Burnley General Hospital two days later on August 8 where it was noted she had severe swelling and bruising to the left eye, was bruised and tender behind her left ear, had bruising and swelling over her eyelids, and had four bumps on the side of her scalp.

A victim impact statement summarised in court also said she was left with stiffness and numbness in her left arm and an anxiety disorder she had before the assault had only been exacerbated by it.

She has not been in employment since November 2022 due to the assault and now rarely goes out, instead staying at home where “she feels safe.”

Mitigating, Ayesha Smart had no objection to the judge’s proposal of a five-year restraining order, and only added that Maziarski works 40 hour per week and has an eight-year-old son who he sees on a weekly basis.

Sentencing, Recorder Andrew Nuttall said: “You have pleaded guilty to this offence of assault against this lady on your trial date.

“I must sentence you on the basis of plea which has been accepted, and the basis of plea reads thus.

“I was struck first in the head by the complainant whilst my back was turned. I did not know that it was the complainant at this time. I initially responded by punching her back in self defence.

“I accept I inflicted further punches and accept causing the complainants injuries. I was under the influence of alcohol and although the violence I used was initially in self-defence, I accept having taken matters too far.”

Continuing with the sentence, Recorder Nuttall said: “I want to make this very clear, this was a nasty assault. She did not deserve this kind of violence.”

The judge gave Maziarski an 11-month sentence suspended for two years, along with further conditions.

He said: “You must know if you breach any of the conditions I am about to impose, I will be waiting for you, and it is almost certain I will send you to prison.

“In my judgement you are quite capable of staying out of trouble and I see no reason why you should come back before these courts.”

Along with his suspended sentence, Maziarski was given a five-year retraining order against his victim, 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days, a six-month alcohol treatment requirement, and ordered to pay a surcharge plus £500 compensation.