Thug scarred mum for life with bottle after chilling four word whisper in her ear

Dean Sinclair, 36, approached the woman from behind on the dancefloor and threw a glass bottle at her when she rejected him - but the dad has avoided serving time in jail

A man who threw a glass bottle into a mum's face after being rejected by her at a nightclub has spared jail.

Dean Sinclair, 36, approached the woman on the dancefloor and whispered into her ear "you don't reject me" before carrying out the violent attack at the club in South Shields. When he became more forceful, the woman pushed him away by pushing back against him, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Sinclair, of Waskerley Road, Washington, then whispered into her ear "you don't reject me" and pushed her into a crowd of people, which saw her fall to the floor. He then moved towards her and she felt under threat and kicked out at him. Sinclair knelt down and picked up a bottle from the floor, which he threw at the woman, hitting her in the face.

While it didn't break, it did knock out a tooth and caused her to suffer a spilt on her lip extending onto her face. The woman needed eight stitches to her face, has been left permanently scarred and has required extensive dental treatment. She described the pain from the attack as a 10 out of 10.

In a victim impact statement, she said she was left petrified and worried about possible repercussions. Her fear was also increased after receiving a message on social media afterwards which read "alright split lip, how's it hanging" - but Sinclair denied sending it, saying he doesn't have a Facebook account.

The woman, who has a young child and had only had three drinks that night, said she was left "visually a mess" and didn't sleep until she knew her attacker had been arrested. She said she keeps getting flashbacks to what happened and has been left "physically and mentally drained" and feels "caged in her own home".

Sinclair, who has 59 convictions on his record, including for violence and previously got a football banning order, pleaded guilty to GBH. He was sentenced to 20 months suspended for 18 months with 200 hours unpaid work, an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement and he must do a "thinking skills programme". He must also pay the victim £4,000 in compensation.

Judge Robert Adams said he had come very close to going straight to prison. The court heard he had been to a funeral that day and consumed a lot of alcohol and decided to go clubbing on his own. Kate Barnes, defending, said: "He wishes, through me to express his sincere remorse to his victim. He knows he has done wrong and has come today prepared to be punished, as he knows he must.

"Under the influence of alcohol, he failed to think about the consequences of his actions, both in approaching (her) and causing the injury to her with the bottle. It's really alcohol that lays behind everything on his unenviable antecedent history."

Miss Barnes added that Sinclair works as a shop fitter or labourer and wants to get back in employment to provide for his partner and children.