Jail for man who injured barmaid in horror Halloween pub brawl

A man who got involved in a bar brawl at a pub’s Halloween party has been jailed for nearly a year.

Joe Tunmer and Andrew Ladds got involved in the altercation at the Red Lion pub in March on October 26 2019.

The incident saw beer glasses thrown across the pub, injuring a barmaid and another man at the event.

The brawl also saw a number of people fall on a woman in wheelchair.

Today the pair appeared at Peterborough Crown Court, where Tunmer (34) of All Saints Close, March, was jailed for 50 weeks.

Ladds (38) of Salem Court, Chatteris, was given a suspended sentence by Judge Sean Enright.

There were tears from loved ones sitting in the public gallery as the sentences were handed out.

Michael Proctor, prosecuting, told the court the incident started at around 10pm.

He said: “CCTV showed a disturbance started in the beer garden and courtyard.

"Tunmer and Ladds got into a verbal confrontation and it became physical.

"Tunmer was seen smashing a bar stool, and brandishing the leg as a weapon both outside and inside the pub.”

Mr Proctor said the confrontation moved onto the dance floor, which resulted in a number of people in the pub falling onto a woman in a wheelchair.

The court then heard how Tumner moved onto the other side of the bar, and glasses were thrown between the two men.

Mr Proctor said that ‘others were caught in the cross fire’ including a barmaid, who described pain feeling like ‘she had been struck on the wrist by a baseball bat.’ Another man in the pu suffered injuries to his face when he was struck.

Staff at the pub called 999, and eight police officers – described by Judge Enright as ‘most of the nightshift’ arrived at the scene, and the two men were arrested.

Mr Proctor said Tunmer told police in interview that his behaviour was used to defend himself from two unknown males from the traveller community.

Ladds told police he believed Tunmer had assaulted his partner, and accepted he should not have behaved as he did.

The court heard that Tunmer had a relevant record involving violent offences, with his most recent offence occuring in 2015, when he was jailed for an offence of wounding and two counts of actual bodily harm.

Mr Proctor said Ladds had a lengthy record, but most offences were of some age and were for dishonesty – which the court heard was in connection with Ladds’ former addiction to class A drugs.

Stephen Mather, defending Tunmer, urged Judge Enright to impose a community order or suspended sentence, telling the court he had committed no offences since the events at the Red Lion in 2019.

He said: “His primary role is as the sole carer for his partner, who has complex medical issues.”

Joseph McKenna, defending Ladds, said his client had shown genuine remorse for his actions, and a prison sentence could send him back to his ‘old ways,’ after he had done good work tackling his drug issues.

Both defendants had pleaded guilty to one count of affray and one count of criminal damage, while Tunmer had been found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, relating to the barmaids’ injuries, following a trial.

Judge Enright said he could not suspend the jail sentence in Tunmer’s case, because of his previous convictions for violence, and also the significant impact on the community in a ‘very small town.’. He was given a 20 week sentence for the affray, and a 30 week sentence for the assault, to be served consecutively.

Ladds was given a 16 week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days.

In both cases there was no separate penalty for the criminal damage charges.