A “Good Samaritan” was pummelled in the face when he bravely stepped in to save a stranger from a pub toilet beating, a court has heard.

Jack Doyle walked into the gents' at Ye Arrow in Boley Hill, Rochester, to see burly Beau Clayton savagely laying into Hugo Parnell while raging “You could have killed her”.

But when Mr Doyle tapped the drink and drug-fuelled thug on his shoulder, saying the victim had "had enough", Clayton turned and promptly punched him three times.

Mr Doyle described being left with half his face “hanging off”, a cut to his lip, bruising, swelling and a suspected eye fracture.

In a victim impact statement read to Maidstone Crown Court, he said he had been “scarred for life”.

“I tried to be a good Samaritan to save a stranger from a brutal attack but he turned his aggression on me,” he wrote.

“I try to take solace in the fact I may have saved someone's life.

“However, there is little comfort when I'm reminded every time I look in the mirror, every time I lick my lip, of the night my life changed.”

The court heard it was around closing time on November 4, 2020, that Mr Parnell was viciously attacked.

Prosecutor Tom Dunn said having used the urinals and “re-arranged himself”, Mr Parnell turned to see Clayton standing in front of him.

“He immediately punched the victim, hitting him in the mouth. Mr Parnell doesn't remember what happened after this but he came round to find himself on the floor with Beau Clayton kicking him in the head,” Mr Dunn told the court.

“He tried to shield his head with his arms but the kicking continued and made contact with his ribs.

“Mr Parnell estimates the defendant kicked him around 20 times before hearing another voice saying words to the effect of 'He's had enough'.

He says he then noticed ‘half my face was hanging off’ and so he left

“That was Jack Doyle, the second victim. What he describes is walking into the gents to see a male beating, as he put it, the living daylights out of another male.

“He saw punches and the beating continued while the victim was on the floor being kicked repeatedly.

“Mr Doyle recalls the aggressor saying words to the effect of 'You could have f****** killed her!' to Mr Parnell.

“Jack Doyle bravely intervened and tapped Beau Clayton on the shoulder, saying words seeking to diffuse the situation along the lines of 'You've proved your point. He has had enough.'

"For his troubles, Beau Clayton turned round and punched Mr Doyle three times to the face.

"He recalls trying to punch back in self-defence, unsure as to whether he made any contact with Beau Clayton because he had been badly dazed by the blows to his head.

"He says he then noticed ‘half my face was hanging off’ and so he left.”

The court heard both Mr Parnell and Mr Doyle ended up in A&E at Medway Maritime Hospital, although the former's injuries of swelling and cuts were said to have been less serious than expected from such "multiple blows and very sustained" assault.

Mr Doyle, however, had to be transferred to a specialist unit at East Grinstead Hospital for treatment from what he called a "mindless beating".

The court heard he now sports a beard to hide what he described as his permanent “scar and ugly disfigurement”.

Clayton, 30, of The Esplanade, Rochester, pleaded guilty to two offences of assault causing actual bodily harm.

Described as “powerfully built and a physically imposing figure”, the court heard that as well as having learning difficulties and ADHD, he was using cocaine “constantly” at the time of the violence.

His previous convictions include common assault and criminal damage.

But although Clayton was said to have no clear recollection of the incident, he was now “a different man”, having given up drinking and taking drugs, enjoying a settled relationship and becoming a dad.

John Connor, defending, also told the court that an explanation for the “You could have killed her” comment related to an incident - backed up, he said, by police records - in which Mr Parnell had apparently driven into Clayton's mother's home, causing extensive damage, in June 2019.

“That perhaps makes some sense of what was apparently said,” added Mr Connor.

“But despite having no recollection of events, he appreciates the impact it would have had on both Mr Parnell and Mr Doyle, and he is sorry for that.”

Judge: ‘It would have been frightening to behold’

Imposing a 16-month jail term suspended for two years, Judge Julian Smith said Clayton had only “narrowly” avoided immediate custody on account of there being a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and the detrimental effect such a sentence would have on his partner and daughter.

He told Clayton, however, that the “combination of drink, drugs and resentment” could not excuse his behaviour.

“While the explanation as to why you said what you did may be true, what it can never do is justify the kind of violence and relentless assault which would have been frightening to behold,” said the judge.

“Mr Doyle is to be commended for his courage in putting himself in harm’s way in an attempt to settle things down.”

As part of his sentence, Clayton was ordered to undertake 30 rehabilitation activity requirements and a mental health treatment programme.

No compensation was awarded, due to him being unemployed and on benefits, but Judge Smith encouraged a claim to be made through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

He also apologised for the almost four-year delay in court proceedings.