Man smashed Sunderland takeaway worker's eye socket after being refused a free pizza

Jonathon Olley caused multiple fractures to the orbital walls in the victim's face and left him needing surgery, all because he did not want to pay for the takeaway food he wanted last October.

At Newcastle Crown Court this morning Olley was jailed for 12 months and given a restraining order to keep him away from the food shop in Sunderland.

As he was about to be led away to start the jail term, Olley told the court it was a ‘disgrace’ he should be going to prison.

"This is not what should be happening, it's an absolute disgrace, I've tried my best to fix myself,” he said.

"It's hard when you are an alcoholic, it's very, very hard. I don't want to be in this position. I have been to jail before, I've experienced it, it's not a nice place.

"I want to be with my partner. I don't want to be going to jail.

"I know i have done wrong, I have held my hands up, I have said sorry and I am."

But Mr Recorder Mark McKone KC told Olley, who has 25 previous convictions, including violence, such a sentence was to be expected after behaving the way he had.

"You cannot be punching people in pizza shops and fracturing their eye socket. If that happens, a prison sentence will follow,” he told the defendant.

The court heard Olley had paid for a 10 inch pizza at the Golden Chef takeaway at Borough Road in Sunderland on October 6 last year but then demanded that he wanted a 12 inch, at no extra cost or he would "smash the shop up".

The the staff member said he would give him the bigger pizza, for the same price as the small one, in an effort to calm the situation.

But prosecutor Jessica Slaughter told the court: "The defendant demanded he was given both pizzas, with the smaller one for free."

Miss Slaughter said when Olley's request for the free smaller pizza was refused, he walked behind the counter twice and acted aggressively.

CCTV from inside the shop showed Olley go back to the customer side of the shop then throw a punch at the worker, across the counter.

The victim, who has been in the food trade for 30 years, needed two surgical procedures to his eye.

He told of the affect of the attack on his life in an impact statement presented to the court.

"I have always tried not to argue with customers,” he said in the statement.

"This attack has left me with potentially life changing injuries. It was unnecessarily violent, totally unprovoked.

"I did all I could to help resolve the situation."

Olley, 39, of Stanton Close, Wardley, Gateshead, admitted causing grievous bodily harm.

Robin Turton, defending, had told the court Olley was "ashamed and disgusted" in his behaviour.