Popworld bouncer's punch left man in coma

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CCTV shows Gary Moffett, a former soldier, thump Graham Crawford outside Popworld, a bar and nightclub in Newcastle city centre. A court heard Mr Crawford fell backwards, struck his head on the pavement and he was left in intensive care for 19 days and had to be put in an induced coma.

He remains without any sense of smell as a result of the GBH – even though it happened some three years ago.

Moffett, 48, claimed it was a preemptive strike, fearing he would be assaulted as Mr Crawford had been asked to leave the nightclub at the time as he was intoxicated.

But Mr Crawford’s furious family told Newcastle Crown Court there was “no need” for the doorman to hit the man.

The defendant was given a suspended prison sentence yesterday at the same court, reports Chronicle Live.

Judge Christopher Prince sentenced the father of three to 12 months, suspended for 18 months with rehabilitation.

The judge said: “It was your job not to allow Mr Crawford back in. He had already been excluded because of his degree of inebriation and conduct.

“He had earlier been to a wedding function where there was free alcohol and he had consumed a great deal of alcohol.

“What happened is clear from the CCTV footage. That showed quite clearly Mr Crawford standing in front of you, moving towards you with his hands out in front of him but not raised.

“There came a point where you punched him and he fell backwards, banged the back of his head on the pavement and he suffered a fractured skull.

“Thankfully he appears to have made a good recovery. He has permanently lost his sense of smell because of the damage it caused to the area of his brain.

“You could have used other methods to restrain him such as pushing him. Had you done so it maybe he would have fell over in any event but the jury found you should not have punched him.”

There came a point where you punched him and he fell backwards, banged the back of his head on the pavement and he suffered a fractured skull

Judge Christopher Prince

In a victim impact statement Mr Crawford’s wife, Lindsay, detailed the extent of the injuries and the terror the family faced as he underwent treatment in hospital.

She said: “To think that someone in authority felt it acceptable to throw such a damaging punch knowing it could cause irreparable damage leaves me sick to my stomach and I don’t know how the man who did this can sleep at night.

“I have great feelings of foreboding and trepidation. Graham is now in a vulnerable state due to the actions of one man who I don’t think has shown any remorse.

“There was no need for him to have punched Graham in any circumstances. That punch has changed our family’s life forever.”

The court heard Moffett, of Cramlington, Northumberland, was also employed by a local council at the time of the offence.

But he has already lost his two jobs as a result – working as a doorman and working in maintenance for a council, which he did for 15 years.

The attack, which happened on September 21, 2018, occurred after dad-of-three Mr Crawford wanted to go back in Popworld. It was Moffett’s job to prevent him doing so.

The defendant has lost his door supervisor’s licence and will not be able to reapply for it for five years.

Peter Schofield, defending, said: “He accepts responsibility for what happened even though it’s a source of great disappointment to him that this should have ended up the way it did.

“He expresses a full and frank apology to Mr Crawford for what took place.

“He has paid a high penalty for his own actions.”

The dad was found guilty of inflicting GBH by a jury.

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