A MAN fractured the skull of a new father outside a nightclub where the victim was celebrating the birth of his baby daughter.

Cameron Whitney, 23, from Tredegar knocked out Lyndon Dower with a single punch at the Morgan Plaza night spot in Ebbw Vale.

Tom Roberts, prosecuting, said the defendant suffered a bleed on the brain, a head wound, blurred vision and some hearing loss following the assault.

He showed CCTV footage of the attack which took place during the early hours of Sunday, October 23 last year.

Mr Dower, who is a children’s football coach, spent a week in hospital.

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“This was a grave injury and the consequences aren’t what they could have been,” Mr Roberts told Cardiff Crown Court.

The defendant and complainant knew each other but there was no history of animosity between them.

South Wales Argus: Cameron Whitney. Picture: Facebook

The victim was celebrating his birthday as well as the birth of his new child.

Whitney, of St Georges Court, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm.

He has a recent conviction for affray and received a suspended prison sentence which was later activated.

Jeffrey Jones representing the defendant said Mr Dower had been causing trouble in the nightclub and was being a “nuisance”.

He was complaining about the state of the gents’ toilets and had been stopping men using the facilities until the staff cleaned them.

Mr Jones said: “Mr Dower was being a nuisance and he was drunk and being rude to staff.

“They had to stop serving him and it was the victim who was told to leave.”

Mr Jones said Mr Dower had been drinking heavily that day and had consumed lager, jugs of cocktails and Jack Daniel’s shorts.

He added: “When the complainant was asked by the police to say how drunk he was on a scale of 1 to 10, he told them he was 10 out of 10.”

Judge Richard Kember told Whitney: “There was some kind of altercation between you in the club and Mr Dower was asked to leave because of his behaviour.

“There was a confrontation outside and the CCTV shows you very clearly punching him and he fell to the floor where he was unconscious for some minutes.”

He jailed Whitney for 12 months but suspended the sentence for two years after he said there was "a realistic prospect of rehabilitation" in his case.

The defendant must attend 19 sessions of a “Thinking Skills” programme and carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

He was made the subject of a three-month electronically-monitored curfew between 7pm and 7am and a six-year restraining order not to contact his victim.

Whitney must pay Mr Dower £750 in compensation, £420 towards prosecution costs as well as a victim surcharge.