A MILLOM man who broke a man’s jaw because “he didn’t like him” has been jailed, on his birthday. 

Ashley Sharman, 27, left Simon Shelton, 23, with a double fracture needing surgery and metal plates in his jaw when he swung an unprovoked punch to his face. 

Preston Crown Court heard Mr Shelton was walking to a local pub along Wellington Street with a friend on June 26 when Sharman pulled up in a black car. 

He got out of the car, asking Mr Shelton: “What are you staring at?” He was angry and smelled of alcohol, the court heard. But when Mr Shelton replied “nothing”, Sharman punched him in the face. 

Mr Shelton was left spitting blood from his mouth and his friend suggested they went to the A and E department at Furness General Hospital. However x-rays revealed he had a double fracture to his jaw and he was referred to a maxillofacial surgeon at Lancaster Royal Infirmary. 

Susan Carter, prosecuting, told the court Mr Shelton said he had been left feeling anxious and worried since the attack. He now has metal plates and screws in his jaw which will require further surgery. 

Tom Lord, defending, said Sharman was struggling to come to terms with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and the future physical difficulties he is likely to experience. Sharman, of Earl Street, Millom, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent. 

Judge Graham Knowles, sentencing, said: “He is a powerfully built man who struck a wholly unprovoked single but mighty blow, causing a double fracture, because he disliked that man. “The fracture had to be reduced and fixed under general anaesthetic. Further surgery is expected. 

“It is of course unacceptable that people should thump people in the face, just because they do not like them, and when it is done in the way you did causing the injury you caused, a prison sentence must follow. 

“Taking into consideration your medical condition and in particular the fact that this has come on at the age it has, I can take an exceptional course and reduce the sentence to eight months.”