A man who was jailed for 12 months for unlawful wounding has walked free from court after already spending more than a year under curfew.

Gary Taylor, 37, caused the wounding of his cousin, Jonathan O’Brien, during a drunken argument that took place on March 7, 2021.

Burnley Crown Court heard how on that date police attended Taylor’s home address at around 7.30pm after the handler on a 111 call made by Taylor became concerned for his safety, after hearing an argument in the background.

After the argument continued in the background Taylor caused injury – a 12cm laceration to his left cheek and an 8cm laceration to the chin - to Mr O’Brien, which resulted in an ambulance being called.

Mr O’Brien was unwilling to say who was responsible for the injuries until he was in the ambulance, where he confirmed it was Taylor.

Upon arrival at hospital, Mr O’Brien underwent a procedure to clean the wounds. He was due to stay overnight but discharged himself on the same day.

Mr O’Brien sadly died earlier this year due to unconnected matters.

Offering mitigation for Taylor, Graham Rishton said: “The defendant comes from a close family. That closeness extends to the relationship he had with the victim in this case, Mr O’Brien.

“One of the tragedies of this case was he was unable to have any contact with him in the last two years of his life. He was close to his cousin.

“Alcohol has blighted this defendant’s life for much of adulthood. Through life he has suffered with acute anxiety and there is a suggestion of a general anxiety disorder, something that scuppered his prospects at university.

“He undertook computer science at university but dropped out because of anxiety. He sought to deal with this through binge drinking throughout his 20s and by his late 20s he was alcohol dependant.

“By the time of this offence he had already sought help to address these issues. A place in rehabilitation with Acorn was already secured which began in the weeks after the offence was committed.

“He is a very different man to the one who committed this offence. He remains clean from alcohol and drugs. It’s no understatement to say he’s transformed his life and prospects.”

Passing sentence, Recorder Brown said: “On March 7, 2021, just over two years ago, your cousin - the complainant Jonathan O’Brien - was staying at your address. It’s clear he also had issues with drinking.

“It’s unclear what happened during that evening but it resulted in you assaulting him. It’s equally unclear what was used to cause that wound but it must have been some kind of sharp instrument.

“It’s evident both of you had been drinking heavily and there had been some physical confrontations.

“Drink no doubt played a major part in this offence.

“Sadly [Jonathan] earlier this year passed away due to unconnected matters. You did not have any contact with him prior to his demise.

“This is an unusual case because of the lack of further evidence from the complainant.

“You have a history of heavy drinking and alcoholism but you made efforts to deal with that. You went into rehabilitation where you dealt with your not insignificant drinking problems. You remain free of drink and drugs and that is an accomplishment to be commended.”

Mr Taylor was given a jail sentence of 12 months, but was allowed to leave court as he has already served 382 days under curfew at home.