A TEENAGER has been spared an immediate spell in custody despite a serious assault which left his victim with a broken jaw.

Jacob Green was adjudged to have wounded and inflicted grievous bodily harm upon another man during the unprovoked attack.

The 18-year-old was however told that because he had stayed out of trouble since the offence and because of his young age, he would not be heading to a young offender institution.

He was charged with wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent and appeared to be sentenced at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, October 4.

Angela Blackmore, prosecuting, explained how the incident occurred in Warrington town centre near the bus station in December last year.

Green ‘unlawfully and maliciously inflicted grievous bodily harm’ upon the victim, who was also a teenager but younger than him.

The victim was reacting as a 'good Samaritan' to an incident involving Green, when the defendant punched him once to the side of the face.

The boy suffered a broken jaw as a result, and this needed to be wired in hospital.

Magistrates took the defendant’s guilty plea into account when passing sentence, however they concluded that the offence was so serious that only a custodial sentence could be justified.

This was due to the attack being ‘unprovoked and of a serious nature’, as well as the severity of injury caused and the impact on the victim and his health.

Despite this, they said that they could draw back from immediate custody due to his age at the time of the offence, and the fact that he has stayed out of trouble since and has a ‘prospect of rehabilitation’.

Green, of Reynolds Street in Westy, was sentenced to four months in prison suspended for 18 months.

He was also ordered to complete 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days, 150 hours of unpaid work and three months of drug rehabilitation treatment.

In addition, magistrates ordered that he pay £600 in compensation to the victim and a surcharge to fund victim services of £128.