A ‘POWERFULLY built’ bouncer who pleaded guilty to assaulting a man at Shenanigans night club on Bridge Street broke down in tears before being handed a suspended sentence. 

Benjamin Longman, 35, of Horseshoe Close, St Helens, was charged with causing actual bodily harm to a customer at the bar on March 23 last year, while he was working as a doorman and DJ.

Prosecutors at Chester Crown Court on  said the victim, who described himself as a five on a drunkenness scale of one to ten, had been asked to leave the club by Longman but said he wanted to finish his drink first.

The court was shown CCTV footage of Longman and the victim speaking calmly for several moments before the bouncer hits the man three times and he falls to the floor.

John R Oates, prosecuting, said: “Although one has to be careful about these things I cannot see any sign of belligerence by the victim.

“The defendant admitted he had hit the victim three times as he can remember and accepted he should have called the police. 

The victim was taken to hospital because he lost consciousness and had suffered a previous head injury.

Oliver King, defending, said: “There’s no doubt [the defendant] overreacted, he is ashamed with himself because he held the position of a doorman. 

“To get that one must show good conduct and show restraint. He has dealt with many more difficult situations than that.”

He said Longman was more stressed than usual at the time of the incident and claimed the victim was making a nuisance of himself.

Mr King said that when the victim was taken to A & E he was abusive to nurses and his behaviour meant security staff had to be called.

The bouncer, who has two young children and also works as a care assistant for elderly people, has no previous convictions.

Mr Recorder Ahmed Nadim, sentencing on Thursday March 31, said: “You were in a position of trust in that you were there to safeguard the security of those who were at these premises but you acted in the reverse.

“It must have been obvious to you that the complainant was vulnerable because of the consumption of alcohol. It was fortunate as the consequences could have been far worse.”

He said Longman had already suffered because he lost his security authority licence, which he needs to work as a bouncer, and he deserved credit for pleading guilty.

The judge asked the bouncer to ‘compose himself’ as he broke down in tears while he was sentenced to nine months suspended for two years.

He was ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £750 victim compensation.