A brother glassed his sister in the face at a bar in Soho after taking advantage of an “unlimited prosecco” meal deal, a court heard.
Ryan Willcocks, 28, lashed out at his sister Marie after she made a remark about his behaviour on the dancefloor, and continued to strike her after she had been knocked to the floor, Southwark crown court was told.
He was eventually dragged away by his brother and his sister was left with a gash over her right eye.
The incident, at the Waxy O’Connor’s pub in Rupert Street on June 7, has “devastated” the family and left Willcocks “racked with regret and remorse”, the court was told.
Prosecutor Eleanor Scott-Davies said Willcocks and his siblings “went for a meal that had unlimited prosecco then went onto Waxy O’Connor’s bar in Soho. Marie saw her brother Ryan dancing with another man who didn’t seem too happy about it. When she said something he made a remark but she laughed it off as part of a back and forth.
“Later she was stood at the bar with her brother, facing Ryan. He drew his right arm back, which had a glass in it, then hit her above the right eye.”
The court heard Ms Willcocks suffered a 2cm cut above her right eyebrow which has left a scar.
Defence barrister Nutan Fatania said Willcocks, a credit controller for a locksmith company, is “deeply remorseful” for the incident and has been battling an alcohol problem. “It’s been devastating for every member of this family,” she said.
Sentencing Willcocks to 10 months in prison suspended for two years, Judge Michael Grieve QC said the “constant flow of alcohol” earlier in the day was a factor in the attack.
“The circumstances are very strange: you attacked someone I am sure you love dearly and the consequences have been difficult for your family,” he said. “There was an exchange that at first seemed in good humour but then you flipped.
“This was obviously a very frightening attack and the injuries could have been much worse — this was a sustained assault. Alcohol caused you to switch and behave out of character. I accept that you are racked with regret and remorse.”
Willcocks, from Sutton, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and was ordered to attend alcohol rehabilitation sessions.
