A WEDDING guest suffered a broken jaw after being punched in the face by a man who believed he had jumped the queue at a taxi rank.

Preston Crown Court heard Dylan Culshaw had punched Adrian Race outside Bowland Brewery in Greenacre Street, Clitheroe, at around 12.30am on March 9.

Mr Race was stood 20 feet away from his girlfriend, who was chatting with friends, when ‘without warning’ he was punched by Culshaw, 20.

Paul Cummings, prosecuting, said Mr Race was knocked to the ground and was dazed and confused.

He said at first the couple went home but at around 3.10am, when Mr Race’s cheek began to swell, they went to hospital.

He said: “He was X-rayed and he had suffered a broken jaw and had an operation. A metal plate was inserted in his jaw. He had a fracture. The complainant is suffering some numbness in the area.”

The court heard the defendant and the victim had been to the same wedding before the incident took place.

In a victim statement, read out by the prosecutor, Mr Race said he suffered from pain in his jaw when taking part in physical activity.

Anthony Parkinson, defending, said his client had shown remorse in the aftermath of the attack

He said: “It is serious because of the injury. This is not a man who normally exhibits violence.

“The defendant wrongly thought the compliant had jumped the queue. There had been an exchange of words between the two. It is right to say the complainant’s hands were in his pockets.”

Culshaw, of Willows Lane, Accrington, pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and was given a six months prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, pay £700 compensation, £500 costs and the statutory victim charge.

Judge Elliot Knopf said the incident could have been more serious, given that other one-punch attack victims have been killed.

He said: “I’m not going to sentence you to immediate custody. I don’t want you to think for one moment that I do not regard this offence with a great deal of seriousness, because I do.

“This was an offence committed for an invalid reason. You punched him very hard in the face and jaw. It was so hard he has had to have an operation with a metal place in his jaw.”