Jail for man who caused victim life-changing injuries in one-punch attack in Scarborough

Police have issued pictures of the moment a man suffered life-changing injuries from a single punch in Scarborough – after his attacker was jailed.

Jamie Kelly had to have half his skull removed while neurosurgeons treated a bleed on his brain after being assaulted by 32-year-old Daniel Johnson on 16 September last year.

CCTV images, released with his family's permission, show the moment Mr Kelly, 41, was felled by a punch near a pedestrian crossing on Ramshill Road.

Johnson, of Cromwell Terrace, Scarborough, was charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, but later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of grievous bodily harm. 

He was sentenced to two years and five months in prison.

Police said Mr Kelly is likely to need specialist care for the rest of his life. 

In a statement given in court, Mr Kelly's mother, Brenda, said: "This sort of thing is what you hear about happening to other people, which is heart-breaking in itself, but never in a million years do you think it would happen to your family, especially your child."

'A shell of a man'

She detailed her son's long recovery process, which has seen him move recently to a dedicated rehabilitation centre.

She added: "When I look at my son what I should see, what I want to see, is a strong, fit, happy independent 41-year-old man.

“But all I do see, due to a violent punch that Daniel Johnson inflicted on him, is a shell of a man. A man who has to drink from a non-spill sippy cup, who needs help eating because of tremors wracking his entire body. He can't go to the toilet or shower himself.

“My son needs to learn to walk again because Daniel Johnson decided he would punch him, obviously intending to hurt him.

“What our family has gone though, and is still going through, is senseless."

Mr Kelly's father, Michael, added: "It is heart-breaking to see my son struggle so hard to have some quality of life and, indeed, we don’t know what the extent of his recovery will be.

"What we do know is that Jamie will have to live with this for the rest of his life, as will we."

Det Con Peter Day, of Scarborough CID, said: "This has been a truly horrendous experience for Jamie and especially for his parents who thought they were going to lose their son."