Barrister wins pinot payout after assault

Newly-wed barrister Owen Prys Lewis of 9 Park Place Chambers received £100 compensation from his wife after she hit him over the head with a bottle of pinot grigio, a court heard.

Brecon Magistrates’ Court heard that personal injury Lewis was left “dazed and bleeding” from two head wounds after Joanne Blyth, his wife of five months, assaulted him at their home.

The court heard that Blyth was screaming as she used an empty bottle of pinot grigio to attack Lewis, who is a member of the Personal Injury Bar Association. Blyth followed it up by hurling a wine glass at him.

The fight started when Blyth “made accusations” against Lewis, although details of the row were not given to the court.

Prosecutor Stephen Davies said, “She was screaming and he told her to calm down because she was drunk.

“She snatched the newspaper from him and grabbed an empty bottle of wine from the kitchen table. She hit him over the head with the bottle and threw a wine glass at him.

“She walked out of the room leaving him dazed with his head bleeding. As she left the room she turned to him and said, ‘You have made me do it’.”

Blyth admitted causing grievous bodily harm and was given a community order for nine months. She was ordered to pay her husband £100 in compensation and £43 costs.

The news comes just days after barrister Christopher Dunn was allegedly behaving badly at a wedding (Webweek, 20 August).