Thug jailed after glassing married couple in row over lift button at Christmas party

Ashley Byrnes, 34, smashes a glass over the husband's head while the man's wife suffered injuries to her neck in a row over whether the lift button had been pressed

Christmas party: The attack happened at the Vermillion Restaurant and Bar in Manchester

A thug who attacked a married couple with a glass after a row in a lift at a Christmas party has been jailed.

Ashley Byrnes, 34, smashed the husband over the head with the glass, leaving him with a 1.5in wound to his forehead which needed stitches in a row over whether the lift button had been pressed.

The man's wife suffered a deep cut on her neck just millimetres from an artery after she was showered with shards of glass, the Manchester Evening News reported.

The vicious attack happened during a Christmas party at the Vermillion restaurant and bar on Hulme Hall Lane in Newton Heath, Manchester.

Byrnes, of West Drive, Droylsden, has now been jailed for 18 months after he admitted two counts of assault.

Manchester Crown Court was told that Byrnes and his own wife were at the restaurant to celebrate a friend's birthday.

His victims did not know him and were at a separate Christmas party.

They were in the lift with three other colleagues from work and were going out for a cigarette. The lift doors would not close, leading to an argument over whether a button had been pressed.

Byrnes then turned violent and smashed the glass over the man's head. He fled the restaurant, leaving his wife to deal with the fallout, following the attack on December 16 last year.

He was later charged and arrested. Following Byrnes's sentencing, police have issued a warning to Christmas party-goers.

Det Con Alexander Day said: "With the festive season upon us and lots of Christmas parties happening, this case serves as a timely reminder of what can happen if you lose control after you’ve been drinking.

"When you're inebriated and tempers fray, you can lash out. And as this incident highlights, one violent act can have dramatic and life-changing repercussions.

"Thankfully the husband and wife who were injured did not suffer more serious injuries, as one shard of glass narrowly missed a major artery, but that is purely by chance, nor design.

"What started as a completely trivial argument escalated into a violent act and because of one moment of madness, Byrnes will now be spending this Christmas behind bars.

"No doubt he regrets his actions, and this should therefore send a strong message to anyone who goes out over the festive period and has too much to drink of just what can happen. When you’re drunk, your senses are diminished and logical and rational thinking go out of the window.

"If you do go out this Christmas, please drink responsibly and don't let yourself get into a situation like Byrnes and end up spending future Christmas in a prison cell away from your family."


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