A CHARD man who launched a vicious attack on a man he believed was having an affair with his partner has been given a 16-week suspended prison sentence.

Daniel Cable lay in wait for the victim as he walked out of a supermarket telling him: “We have to have a word” and punched him in the face so hard his teeth went through his lower lip.

The victim blacked out temporarily and when he woke up realised his hands were covered in blood and also had severe pain in his leg.

A witness said the attack had been completely unprovoked and the victim had been punched with a clenched fist before the assailant ran off from the scene, leaving him lying on the ground.

Cable, 37, of Chesterfield, pleaded guilty at a previous court hearing to unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on John Wilson on April 19.

Prosecutor Ben Winzar said that the two men were known to each other through mutual friends, but the defendant had been accusing the victim of sleeping with his partner over the last year.

On the day in question Mr Wilson walked out of Tesco in Chard at 1.30pm and Cable was waiting outside for him.

“He accused him of sleeping with his partner, but the victim denied it, and when he turned around was suddenly on the floor and felt he had been knocked out temporarily,” he said.

“He woke with his hands full of blood, and a witness described hearing a noise and saw Cable punch the victim with his right hand in a fist which was completely unprovoked.

“He made contact with the complainant’s head causing him to hit the floor and Cable then ran off leaving him on the floor crying. The victim felt as if his ankle had been broken, and his teeth had been punched through his lower lip.”

He was taken to Yeovil District Hospital and had a broken bone in his lower shin and his leg was put in a cast. A doctor’s report said it was a complex fracture of the right fibula and would require further treatment.

Defending solicitor Greg Peters said that no children were present at the time of the incident and the CCTV footage did not show a five-minute conversation between the two men before Cable punched him.

“My client does express remorse and culpability for what happened and when police attended his address he said it was him who did it,” he said.

“It was a spur of the moment action with no planning, and he is sorry for the injuries he has caused which came from a moment of frustration and sheer madness.

“He wanted the truth from the complainant and is now relocating from the area for a fresh start with his relationship.”

The magistrates told Cable the offence was a serious, unprovoked attack which had passed the custody threshold; however they were prepared to suspend it as they felt there was a real prospect of rehabilitation.

They sentenced him to 16 weeks custody but suspended it for 24 months and during that time ordered him to carry out 30 rehabilitation activity days with the Probation Service. They also ordered him to pay the victim £1,200 compensation.