Thug who attacked student in Glam found not guilty of bottling him

An aggressive punter with 22 previous convictions has been found not guilty of bottling a student at Glam. 

“Thug” Shane Burford left USW student David Brady with serious injuries to his hand and face.

The judge told Burford he was “quite a thug” after listing 22 of his previous convictions during the trial.

The court heard Burford, 21, from Somerset allegedly used a glass or bottle to assault Brady whilst in Glam night club on Greyfriars Road, leaving the student with “distressing” injuries.

Burford had already pleaded guilty to an offence of battery after CCTV at the nightclub showed him assaulting Mr Brady.

The film showed the student sitting down when Burford and another man approached him. A number of punches were thrown before Burford walked away.

The prosecution in court stated while out of shot of CCTV, Burford assaulted him once again, this time with a glass or bottle, leaving the student with severe injuries to his hands and face.

Derek Perry, for Burford, ended by telling the jury his client knew he should not have assaulted the student.

He said “If you think I am going to say he is a poor misunderstood lad, you’re mistaken. He has been a very bad lad. Let’s not forget that.”

“He is someone who, from the evidence we have heard, behaved very badly. Punching that man in the way he did cannot be justified.”

Burford chose not to give evidence during the trial, however his attorney encouraged the jury to consider that someone else could have caused the injuries to Mr Brady.

Mr Perry said: “Punching and glassing and bottling are different things. There is no way of saying who or what caused that injury. Isn’t it common sense and entirely possible that someone was involved?”

He asserted although there was evidence Mr Brady was covered in glass, none was found on Burford.

He later stated: “There’s a clear possibility that more happened to Mr Brady than Mr Burford punching him once. There’s an infinite range of possibilities as to how that may have happened.”

Judge Hopkins ended the trial saying, “For no discernible reason you decided to attack a young man who was close to being paralytically drunk.” Burford was sentenced to six months maximum but was likely to be released from prison almost immediately due to the length of his custody.

Lauren, a third year gave The Tab her opinion on Glam: “I used to visit Glam on a Monday night regularly during first year, but as I’ve got older it’s difficult to ignore it’s certainly not ‘glam’. On a Friday and Saturday night I don’t like the people that go, it’s not your regular student crowd and sometimes I have seen it get violent.’