By Staff Reporter

Last updated 11:59, Wednesday, 02 July 2008

A Polish man whose nose was broken in an unprovoked attack in a Carlisle pub has been so upset by the incident he is now considering quitting the UK for good.

Magistrates jailed the two men responsible for what prosecutor Callum Cowx described as a cowardly attack.

But victim Robert Rabczak, 32, who believes he was targeted because of his nationality, said he no longer feels comfortable living in the UK and is considering returning to his native Poland.

At the city’s magistrates court yesterday, David Robinson, 22, of Jubilee Road, Currock, who was convicted of assault causing actual bodily harm, was jailed for 120 days.

Stephen Read, 21, of Lund Crescent, Currock, who was convicted of common assault, was jailed for 90 days. Both men denied the allegations.

Outlining the case, Mr Cowx said Mr Rabczak had been in Terminal 1 on Botchergate on January 19, where he was drinking Coke and minding his own business. Finding himself in the same area as the defendants, he tried to shake hands with them, said the prosecutor.

“The reply was an elbow in the face from Mr Read,” said Mr Cowx. Mr Rabczak reported the incident to doorstaff, and tried to get them to phone the police. It was as he talked to the doorstaff that Robinson ran up to him and punched him, breaking his nose.

When arrested, both defendants denied any knowledge of the assaults.

“Both men continue to deny the offences and have shown no remorse,” said Mr Cowx.

He went on to read a victim impact statement from Mr Rabczak, in which he described how he had been plagued by pain and haunted by nightmares.

“I would dream that I’d been attacked and that the person who did was laughing at me,” wrote Mr Rabczak. “I would think why do people do these things? After the assault I became nervous about going out in town, and nervous and intimidated by people I didn’t know.”

Mr Rabczak, who needed three weeks off work, added: “I don’t feel comfortable about going out or being in this country any more.

“This had happened because of the language I speak. My wife gets upset because I want to go back to Poland and she wants to stay here.”

John Cooper, mitigating for both defendants, said the offences were not racially motivated and neither defendant was a racist.

He said Read had references, including one from a woman who said he helped her during the 2005 flood.

Robinson had a good job as a trainee plumber, but would have to restart his training if he was jailed. Both men were excluded from city centre pubs for a year.