A man from Thetford was handed a suspended sentence for throwing a glass at the head of another man trying to defend a woman from his unwanted advances in a west Suffolk nightclub. 

Nathan Ryder, 30, of Abbey Mews, Thetford, was drinking in the Verve nightclub in Bury St Edmunds in the early hours of December 12, 2021, when he attempted to engage an unidentified woman in conversation, Ipswich Crown Court heard. 

Another man named Thomas Dunning observed Ryder “pestering” the woman, the court was told.

Mr Dunning asked if she was alright, and the woman said that Ryder “would not leave her alone”. 

Mr Dunning suggested that he pretend to be the woman’s boyfriend, and the pair took their drinks to a table. 

The court was shown CCTV footage, in which Ryder can be seen approaching the woman from behind. He leaned down to speak to her, with presiding Judge Richard Kelly observing that she looked “unimpressed”. 

Mr Dunning told Ryder to go away, and reached out to touch his his forehead, pushing him away. 

Ryder reacted by throwing the contents of his glass at Mr Dunning, and then throwing the glass itself, which hit Mr Dunning in the head and shattered. 

The court heard that Mr Dunning was left with a six-centimetre scar to the top of his head, which he said has caused him much embarrassment. 

Ryder pleaded guilty to unlawfully and maliciously wounding Mr Dunning, and was handed a sentence of 14 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.  

He was also ordered to pay £2,500 in compensation and to complete 35 rehabilitation activity days. 

The court heard that he had written a letter to Judge Kelly expressing his remorse, and that he had been in no trouble since the incident.