A THUG jailed for slashing a have-a-go-hero with a broken bottle has failed to convince top judges that he was wrongly condemned as a danger to society.
Daniel Thomson, 19, left Liam Denton needing staples and stitches to wounds on his head, legs and stomach after a drink-fuelled onslaught.
Thomson, of Sackville Street, Normanton, was handed a seven-and-a-half year extended sentence after he admitted wounding with intent, at Derby Crown Court in March. He was ordered to serve five-and-a-half years in custody with the rest on licence in the community.
Three judges at the Court of Appeal, in London, have now rejected a bid by Thomson to have his sentence cut, saying the "extremely serious assault" justified such a stiff punishment.
Mrs Justice Slade said Mr Denton intervened when he spotted Thomson chasing people with a broken bottle in Cromwell Road, Normanton, on January 21.
Thomson struck Mr Denton with the bottle, slashing at his head, shoulder and repeatedly to his stomach, before being knocked to the ground by a bystander, the appeal judge added.
Bleeding heavily, Mr Denton was rushed to hospital, where he was found to have a cut above his collar bone and wounds measuring 7cm and 10cm in length over his ribs. Each had to be stapled and stitched shut.
Thomson refused to comment in a police interview after arrest on January 26 but later admitted his guilt.
Speaking to the author of a pre-sentence report later, he said he had drunk vodka and brandy before the attack and had no memory of it, expressing regret for his actions.
The author found that Thomson used violence "to resolve conflicts" and considered he posed a high risk of future harm to the public.
He had made 13 previous court appearances, with convictions for 20 offences, such as possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, robbery and assault and battery, the appeal judge added.
The Crown court judge had described the assault as "extreme violence", carried out on impulse.
On appeal, Thomson's barrister, Laura Pitman, said that his record displayed limited violence and argued that the judge erred in ruling him dangerous before imposing a "manifestly excessive" sentence.
But Mrs Justice Slade said: "The combination of his youth and the now-established pattern of behaviour justified the conclusion of the sentencing judge that Thomson's antecedent history did show a worrying continuum of escalating violent behaviour."
The judge, sitting with Lord Justice Fulford and Mrs Justice Cox, added: "There is, in our judgment, no basis on which to consider that the imposition of an extended sentence was wrong or excessive.
"This was a grave attack. Notwithstanding Miss Pitman's persuasive and eloquent submissions, this appeal is dismissed."
