Jail term suspended on appeal

Paddy Hudson (30), of Bamber Park, Ballymena, was convicted in March of maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on Darren Campbell.

Hudson pleaded not guilty to the charge but was convicted. He then appealed his conviction and sentence at the County Court in Antrim.

While the conviction stood, the six-month term has now been suspended for two years.

During the contest in March, both men said they knew each other through football and gave conflicting accounts of the incident, claiming each had been the aggressor in the case.

Mr Campbell said his jaw had been fractured after Hudson hit him on the face on Halloween night 2015 on Ballymena’s William Street.

At the initial court hearing, defence barrister Francis Rafferty said Hudson’s wife is expecting a child. Based on the defendant’s attitude to the charge, he said his client, who had a previously clear record, was assessed in a pre-sentence report as being at a low to medium risk of re-offending.

Mr Rafferty said “exemplary references” were provided to the court for his client.

The contest heard Mr Campbell had to go on a “liquid diet” for six weeks after his jaw fracture.