A Tenby footballer has been brought before magistrates after punching a former soldier to the head and knocking him unconscious.

Jacob Hipkiss, 20, was captured on CCTV footage as he approached the Five Arches Tavern pub, Tenby, on the evening of May 25, 2021.

Crown Prosecutor Kelly Rivers told Haverfordwest magistrates that without any provocation, Hipkiss walked up to Mr Scott Cass who happened to be standing outside the pub, and punched him to the head.

As a result of the blow, Mr Cass lost all consciousness.

“The defendant gave a single punch to the head and the next thing the victim knew was being told by a female police officer that he had been assaulted,” said Miss Rivers.

“He remembered feeling blood on his face, and nothing else.”

A victim statement from Scott Cass was read out to the court.

“I was very shocked at what happened as this was a very random attack,” he said.

“There was no one else to support me and as a result of what happened, I now get very anxious and vigilant on a night out and worry about going back to that place.”

Mr Cass added that as a result of the time he served in the army, he suffers from PTSD for which he takes medication.

Meanwhile Prosecutor Kelly Rivers informed magistrates that as a result of the attack, Mr Cass has sustained a permanent scar to his head.

Hipkiss, who pleaded guilty to the charge of assault causing actual bodily harm, was represented in court by Mr Tom Lloyd.

“This incident took place two weeks after my client’s eighteenth birthday and that night he had consumed a very considerable amount of alcohol so his recollection is very vague,” he said.

“He just walked past the pub and punched the victim. But he’s learnt his lesson and it’ll never happen again.”

Mr Lloyd then read from a letter which the defendant had written to the magistrates.

“I apologise as my behaviour that night was totally unacceptable and out of character,” he said., “But since that incident I’ve grown up massively, and recognise the harm that it caused.”

After considering the evidence, Hipkiss was handed an 18 month community order during which he will have to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £500 compensation to the victim, £85 costs and a £114 court surcharge.

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