A NEWPORT man described as a “Jekyll and Hyde character” has been sentenced to four years in prison after fracturing a bar owner’s jaw and bottling his own friend while on bail.

Dean Davies, aged 24, of Fairbank Avenue, previously pleaded guilty to the two assaults and two counts of possessing an offensive weapon. He had been on remand.

Cardiff Crown Court heard the first incident took place outside the Hot Rocks bar at Chepstow Road at around 1am on August 1 last year.

Davies had been in a heated argument with members of his family so the bar’s owner, Christopher Jervis, stepped in, according to prosecutor Andrew Davies.

The resulting exchange, which was captured by CCTV, saw the defendant punch Mr Jervis in the jaw in an “unprovoked attack” that had lasting damage.

“It was fixed by wires which were placed into his jaw and he has lost three stone as a result of the injury,” said the prosecutor.

While on bail for the assault, Davies attended a house party with friends in the city in the early hours of December 19 last year.

As the party wound down that morning, Davies got into a play fight with his friend, Lee Crew.

The court heard written testimony from a witness to the assault, Tara Jones, who said the “bantering turned nasty”.

Davies picked up a stone and threw it at his friends legs before twice hitting him over the head with a bottle and biting him on his stomach, the court was told.

Mr Crew was left with three wounds – on his forehead, left ear and left index finger – and required eight stitches in hospital.

Davies had 12 previous convictions for 17 offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, affray, possession of an offensive weapon and a wounding.

Defending Davies, Nigel Fryer said the structure of prison life had benefited his client and he had even become a mentor in HM Prison Cardiff’s tools for change work programme.

“He can be quite a Jekyll and Hyde character and it’s quite clear that when there’s structure and professional help, it’s having a marked effect on him,” said Mr Fryer.

“He had a very difficult period in his teenage years and beyond, certainly with potential psychological issues.

“The fact that he’s involved himself as a mentor has brought him a lot of confidence and a lot of self-worth. The prison staff have been extremely impressed with him.”

Mr Fryer then called Davies’ partner of two years, Abigail Oldham, to the witness stand and asked her what type of professional help she would like him to receive.

“Counselling,” she replied. “He needs counselling.”

Summing up, Recorder Timothy Petts took Davies’ early guilty pleas into consideration but said he had a duty to protect the public.

“You’re a dangerous young man and it’s in the interest of public protection that I pass an extended period of sentence upon you,” he said.

For the assault on Mr Crew, he sentenced Davies to four years in prison; for the attack on Mr Jarvis, he passed a concurrent sentence of one year and 10 months; and for the use of the bottle and rock as offensive weapons, he ordered a concurrent sentence of 18 weeks each.

In total, Davies will serve four years behind bars and a further three years on licence.