A WHEELCHAIR user left a man with a third of his ear missing after a savage assault in a pub’s beer garden.

Leigh Thomas caused Liam Nash life-changing injuries following the attack at Cwmbran’s John Fielding Wetherspoons when a brawl erupted in the summer of 2019.

The defendant was handed a suspended sentence after a judge expressed his astonishment the prosecution accepted Thomas’ plea on the basis he hadn’t bitten his victim.

He also slammed Gwent Police and the CPS for taking two years to bring the matter to conclusion before a court.

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Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: “It is remarkable how he appeared to have lost that part of his ear if it was not a bite.”

He told Thomas: “You are aged 30 and not a man of clean character. You have a previous conviction for affray.

“You are a disabled man and a wheelchair user. You have become embroiled in public violence in the past.

“The CCTV for this offence shows you became involved with enthusiasm.

“You are not a vulnerable person that is generally associated with wheelchair users.

“There was serious injury to Mr Nash and this was a sustained attack by you.”

Owen Williams, prosecuting, said Thomas had rained punches on his victim – a complete stranger – after a free-for-all took place during the early hours of the morning.

He told how Mr Nash was drinking in the pub with his friends Lewis Jones and Joseph Parton when a fight broke out with Thomas and a group he was with.

The pair had been grappling on the floor before the defendant repeatedly punched him.

Thomas, of Church Close, New Inn, Pontypool, pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding on Sunday, July 21, 2019.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Nash said: “I am always looking over my shoulder when I leave the house.

“This has changed my life forever.

“I work in the retail sector and a large part of my job involves customer service.

“I am asked almost daily what happened to my ear.

“A child recently asked me and I told him it was bitten off by a shark because I find it inconceivable that someone could to this.”

Kevin Seal, mitigating, said: “The defendant has always denied being responsible for biting.

“His remorse is genuine. He was not the instigator. He was stupid to get involved.”

Judge Jenkins said there had been an “inordinate delay” in bringing the case before him.

For that reason, he said, he was able to suspend the prison sentence.

Thomas was jailed for 15 months, suspended for 18 months.

The defendant was ordered to complete a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and was made the subject of a three-month electronically monitored curfew.

Thomas was also banned from the John Fielding pub for a year after the judge made an exclusion order.