A night club reveller who hit a fellow drinker in the face with a glass cutting him above the eye must pay him thousands in compensation.

Christopher Peter Novak’s attack on Daniel Marron left the victim with blood pouring from the wound, so profusely he had to remove his T-shirt to staunch the flow.

For the prosecution, Michael Jelski told the Court of General Gaol Delivery Novak had been drinking with friends during that evening, on November 29.

He said the 23-year-old, of River Walk in Braddan, had drunk six or seven Corona lagers while watching a boxing match at a friend’s house before arriving at the Courthouse bar on Athol Street about 1am.

But downstairs in the nightclub area the previously convivial evening turned sour.

The court heard the victim Mr Marron was on the busy dance floor when he was suddenly aware of a hand holding a glass swinging at the left hand side of his face. In shock and pain he fell to the floor bleeding heavily from a cut over his left eye. He told police he did not see who had been holding the glass but had noticed a man, whom he recognised from two years above him at Ballakermeen High School, staring at him.

He was taken to Noble’s Hospital where glass was picked from the wound and six stitches were inserted into it.

One of Marron’s friends, who witnessed the event said that at about 2am he had spotted Marron and another man apparently ‘in one another’s face’ on the dance floor.

‘He saw the other man raise his hand, overarm, and he saw the glass smash on impact,’ Mr Jelski said.

At this point Marron’s friend had intervened, punching Novak, knocking him backwards to the ground ‘to stop him hitting Marron again’.

Bouncers intervened, the police were called and outside the club Novak told them: ‘He hit me, so I glassed him in self-defence.’

Mr Jelski said at the 11th hour, just two weeks before the scheduled March 13 trial date, Novak admitted maliciously wounding the victim.

The admission was on the understanding that he hit the victim, forgetting he was holding a glass in his hand at the time, which the prosecution accepted.

Defending him, Jim Travers said Novak was co-operative and had no significant previous convictions. Since the attack, he had been working abroad in his father’s business.

Sentencing him to 240 hours’ community service, Deemster Alastair Montgomerie told him drink had been a factor in clouding his judgement. He was banned from entering on-licensed premises buying or being sold alcohol for one year, pays £4,000 compensation to the victim and costs of £525.