Man fractured fight victim's face with headbutts

A man who fractured his victim's face with multiple headbutts and punches has been jailed for five years and a month.

Gary Haswell, 40, used extreme and shocking violence against a man in a fight in the foyer of a Gateshead flat block in July, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The victim, a "well-known criminal" who was later jailed for carrying a screwdriver during the six-minute-long melee, suffered fractures to his cheek and nose.

Haswell admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent. James Cowell, who also attacked the man, was jailed for 22 months suspended for two years after he admitted unintentional wounding.

Haswell, who had been told the victim was looking for him for a fight, punched the man in the face when they encountered each other in the foyer of Warwick Court at about 14:45 BST on 28 July 2025, prosecutor Saba Shan said.

The victim pulled out a screwdriver and the pair grappled as Cowell repeatedly kicked the man to try and disarm him, the court heard.

A woman and other man tried to break up the fight, but Haswell continued to attack the man, at one point forcefully headbutting him seven times in the face as he lay on the ground, the court heard.

Haswell, of St Cuthbert's Court in Gateshead, then rained multiple punches on the man's head and face, the court heard.

The victim, who did not support the prosecution, was taken to hospital where he was treated for "multiple facial fractures" to his cheek bone, lower jaw and nose, Shan said.

In mitigation for Haswell, Shaun Routledge said the victim was a "well-known criminal" and Haswell, who had 42 offences on his criminal record, had attacked him out of self-defence.

Recorder Mark McKone KC said he accepted there might have been an element of self-defence as the victim was armed, but Haswell had shown his "instinct for violence" and, by taking his top off and bouncing on his toes, appeared to be "enjoying the experience".

"The force you used in the later part of this incident had nothing to do with self-defence at all," the judge said. "This was extreme violence in anger."

He said CCTV footage of the attack was "quite shocking" and the two people who tried to intervene should be "commended".

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