Burnley ex-Marine jailed for nightclub attack

Callum Krzysik (24), of Rosehill Road, Burnley, punched victim Nathan Hugill in the face in Barcode, Hammerton Street, last April, following which his victim suffered with seizures.

Mr Hugill was off work for a month, put on restrictive duties, missed a college exam and was unable to drive until last November, Burnley Crown Court heard.

Krzysik, a former Royal Marine, then tried to get Mr Hugill to drop the charge by offering him £300 via a third party.

Burnley Crown Court was told that was rejected, but Krzysik came back with a second offer, again by a proxy, to offer “anything” for the assault to be dropped. The court heard Krzysik was planning to emigrate to Australia.

Krzysik had admitted assault causing grievous bodily harm and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Nicholas Courtney (prosecuting) described Krzysik as a “powerfully built man” and second best in the country at mixed martial arts.

CCTV footage played to the court showed Mr Hugill dancing with a female with Krzysik in the picture.

The female put her arm across Mr Hugill’s chest as if to try to stop any confrontation when Mr Hugill was punched to the floor and knocked unconscious.

Krzysik then stood over Mr Hugill and “shouted aggressively at him” before being removed from the bar, the court heard.

Mr Courtney said Krzysik then re-entered and was seen shaking hands with other club-goers while Mr Hugill was still on the floor. Two off-duty paramedics were offering assistance, the court heard.

Krzysik was arrested and was heard to say at the scene, when drunk, “that lad deserved everything he got”. Later, he said he hit his victim once in self defence.

Mr Courtney told the court Mr Hugill was taken to hospital where he had an X-ray but no fracture was found.

He was discharged but returned to hospital after suffering two convulsions at home. He was also said to have had a black eye, a bruised cheek, recurring nosebleeds and was provided with anti-epileptic medication for the fits.

The court heard Mr Hugill had suffered “significant trauma” to his head when he hit the ground and also suffered “severe” headaches.

Mr Courtney told the court comments posted on Facebook suggested Krzysik had wanted to put the footage on Facebook for others to view.

Krzysik had previously been handed a community order for breaking a victim’s nose with a headbutt and had been arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

Daniel Lister (defending) said Krzysik accepted the seriousness of what he had done but said there was more provocation from Mr Hugill than the CCTV footage showed.

Mr Lister said Krzysik’s actions were “beyond foolish” and he was “remorseful” for his behaviour.

Sentencing, Judge Robert Altham said Krzysik’s reaction to a bit of pushing between him and Mr Hugill was “out of all proportion”.

Judge Altham said: “You chose to deploy full force which effectively floored him. There could be no justification for that level of force.”

Judge Altham said after landing the blow, Krzysik was still acting “extremely aggressively” and the two seizures his victim suffered “must have been extremely frightening for him”.