Two Men Jailed For Blinding A Man In A Birmingham Attack

15 January 2015, 18:32 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Two men have been jailed after a man was blinded in an alcohol fuelled attack in Birmingham city centre.

Simeon Evans, 30 from Bromford  was jailed for four years and 6 months and Jack Gargham, 26, of Devon Road, Rubery was jailed for four years and five months.

Both pleaded guilty to the assault which involved them whipping the victim with a belt, causing permanent damage to his eye.

The 32-year-old, who has been left traumatised by the attack, was hit from behind following a dispute over a taxi as he left a nightclub on Bristol Road at around 6am on 26 January 2014.

As he tried to get into a taxi Evans approached him and told him the taxi was his - the man told him to take the taxi but an argument began and he was attacked by Evans.

The victim pulled the belt from his trousers to defend himself but Evans snatched it from his hand.

As he fell to the floor they kicked and punched him to the head and with the buckle end of the belt they attacked his face which resulted in him losing an eye.

Detective Constable Chris Smith, from the Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: “This was a completely savage and sustained attack on a man who was trying to defend himself from these thugs.

“The amount of mindless violence that was inflicted was totally over the top and was definitely fuelled by alcohol.

“After seeing the CCTV footage Evans and Sheldon were horrified by their actions and pleaded guilty at their earliest opportunity. However, Gargham showed no remorse and although admitting to a lesser offence of assault - he denied intending to cause the serious harm he inflicted - forcing the victim into a lengthy trial.

“The victim has had to go through an extensive amount of medical treatment including surgery.

“After an initial operation on his eye he needed further surgery and in March was told that he had lost the sight in his left eye permanently.

“He is still coming to terms with his injuries and has told me that he feels his live is over, and there’s no opportunity left to him.

“We accept yesterday’s decision and hope that the jail sentence brings some comfort to the victim."