Broken Bones In Cindies

A John’s student is must pay £3,800 compensation after fracturing another student’s pelvis in Cindies.

assault Ballare ben shaw Cindies compensation Emily Farbrace fractured pelvis johns law st johns sue

A John’s student has to pay a whopping £3,800 in compensation after a horrific accident in Cindies left a fellow undergrad with a fractured pelvis.

During a night out in May last year, 2nd year CompSci Ben Shaw drunkenly picked up fellow Johnian Emily Farbrace before charging across the dancefloor with her in his arms.

But Shaw tripped and smashed into the bar, CRUSHING Farbrace against it. She was left with a fractured pelvis and was forced to miss her second year NatSci exams.

The scene of the crime – the infamous Cindies

She accused Shaw of being “completely reckless”, saying: “I made it very clear by pushing against him and shouting that I didn’t want him to run with me in his arms”.

And magistrates agreed, telling Shaw: “your behaviour was reckless and dangerous, and aggravated further by drink.”

Now he has to pay the price for his drunken prank. Charged with common assault, he was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work, and pay £130 costs in addition to the huge compensation sum. He was also sent down by John’s last year as a result of the stunt.

The court heard how the pair had had a difficult relationship with one another since starting at John’s in 2009.

Emily is now back in Cambridge

It seems both continue to struggle to deal with the consequences of the incident. Prosecutor Paul Brown described the ‘huge impact’ the injury had on Farbrace, who was put at a “huge disadvantage” by missing her exams. But mitigator Jeffrey Lewis was quick to respond that Shaw was: “absolutely mortified by the consequences of his own actions.”

Shaw told The Tab he still wasn’t in the mood to talk about what had happened, but was clearly upset by the incident, stressing he was keen to move on and look towards the future.

In a letter of apology to Farbrace, he wrote: “I’m devastated by what happened. I never meant to hurt anyone.”