Glass-throwing teenager awaits sentence

The court heard of Knight's 'moment of madness'

A judge has deferred sentencing a teenage Royal Artillery gunner who injured a brother and sister when he threw a glass in a Devon pub.

Shaun Knight, 18, was told by Judge Graham Cottle he had thrown the glass at the pair, who were his friends, "in a moment of madness".

Knight, of Newton Abbot, appeared at Exeter Crown Court to be sentenced after pleading guilty to wounding Dean McCulloch and Kelly Beagam.

Both suffered facial injuries when the glass was thrown during the incident in a pub in Newton Abbot in June last year.

'Nastily injured'

The judge told Knight, who is serving with a Royal Marine unit, that he did not intend the consequences, but the two victims were "nastily injured".

Deferring sentence for six months, the judge said he expected Knight to save a "significant amount of money" to pay as compensation.

During the incident, Knight was pushed to the floor during an argument with Mr McCulloch.

He then "lobbed" a pint glass which "exploded" on Mr McCulloch's head, seriously injuring one of his eyes, and injuring Miss Beagam's right eye.

Receiving treatment

Mr McCulloch is still receiving treatment on the eye, through which he has blurred vision.

The restricted sight in Miss Beagam's injured right eye was not expected to recover, the court was told.

Defence counsel Rupert Taylor said everyone involved had been drinking, and they were all friends.

He said what had happened was a tragedy, but damage to the vision of the victims would not be improved by sacrificing the career of Knight, who also faced being dealt with by his regiment.