A NIGHTCLUB bouncer has been ordered to pay compensation to a female student who he attacked as she queued up for a pre-Christmas party.
Brett Ashelford lost his temper with the customer after she took a swing at him during an argument over whether a drunken friend should be let into the Fever and Boutique Club in Exeter.
He grabbed the student and wrestled her to the ground where he held an arm over her face, leaving her terrified that she would not be able to breath. Her top came down and her dress rode up, leaving her partially naked and feeling humiliated.
Ashelford lost his security clearance as a result of being charged with the assault and is now working as a van delivery driver.
He had sought help from the NHS for problems including anger management and depression before the incident in December 2022 but received only limited treatment.
The victim was so traumatised that she had to go home immediately.
She only suffered grazing and bruising but the psychological effects caused her to delay some exams, Exeter Crown Court was told.
Ashelford, aged 31, formerly of Tedburn St Mary but now of Mildmay Close, Exeter, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and was jailed for eight months, suspended for two years and ordered to pay £600 compensation, do 100 hours of community service, and 20 days of rehabilitation activities by Recorder Mr Malcolm Galloway.
He told him: “The student should not have swung a punch at you. She thought the impact on you was minimal but that is no excuse for her behaviour.
“You should have reacted with professionalism and not lost your temper and used your size and strength in the way shown on the CCTV.
“I accept you were having difficulties with your mental health and were not fit to do this job.
“One may ask why you were doing it. You will never again work as a security guard. You are very lucky today. If you appear before this court again there is no doubt it will be custody.”
Miss Bathsheba Cassel, prosecuting, said the incident on December 5, 2022, was caught on CCTV and on mobile telephone footage.
It showed Ashelford doing his job and going into a queue of customers to remove a young woman who was deemed too drunk to be allowed in.
She tripped over as she was being ushered away and the complainant intervened, swinging a punch that caught the doorman in the mouth and trying to spit at him.
He responded by pinning her to the ground and was recorded saying “I’ll f***ing kill you”.
Mr Brian Fitzherbert, defending, said Ashelford had gone to his GP a year before the incident complaining of stress and had been referred to Talkworks but never received an appointment.
He is now working as a delivery driver to support his partner and their three-month-old baby.
He did not think he had suffocated the student during the incident because he could her screaming throughout but he wants to apologise to her for the upset which she has suffered.
Crown Court Reporter