A drunk who assaulted a pub doorman and nearly broke his nose has appeared in court.

Artur Mieszczak, 41, pleaded guilty to assault at Swindon Magistrates Court on Monday, October 14.

Mr Ballinger, prosecuting, said Mieszczak was out with two friends on Sunday, December 31, 2023 celebrating New Year's Eve at the Goddard Arms pub in Swindon when they disagreed with the doorman.

Around 9pm they were asked to “calm down” as they were being loud and despite one of the men asking to speak to the manager, their disorderly behaviour continued and they were asked to leave the pub.

The doorman followed to ensure they left without any further issues and stood with them at the front door, when one of the men challenged the doorman and said they weren’t happy with him telling them what to do.

Suddenly Mieszczak lunged towards him pushing the doorman back into the premises, while punching him and catching his nose, before punching him several times in the back of the head and pulling his t-shirt over his head.

CCTV shows Mieszczak’s friend also punched the doorman in an attack he thought lasted between 40 and 50 seconds and he is due to be sentenced on December 2 at Swindon Magistrates Court.

The doorman later attended Great Western Hospital after his nose was left very swollen and disfigured, saying he had previously had issues with his nose before the assault, but it was not broken.

Mieszczak, who has seven convictions for offences against a person, gave a no comment interview when taken into custody and is currently on a suspended sentence for offences which took place after this one so this conviction does not breach it. 

The Magistrate told him: “It’s serious – if you hit someone on the head, you could kill them.

“Door staff at clubs are very vulnerable, they don’t have the protections that police officers have. In this case, you’re lucky the injuries were not more serious.

“I’m assuming the matter happened when you were drunk, these things normally do. 

Whilst it is a serious offence which in my view would normally attract a prison sentence, particularly because of your record, because of your guilty plea and your good progress, I can deal with this matter by a community order.”

Mieszczak was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid community service and complete 12 hours of an ongoing order and must pay £200 compensation to the victim.