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From the
https://www.kentonline.co.uk By KentOnline reporter, 27 May 2019.
Groom glassed in the facein Ashford night before his wedding still turns up at Cooling Castle Barn.
An unsuspecting groom nearly lost an eye after being glassed during a
quiet pub quiz the night before his wedding day - but still got to the
church on time.
Scott Richards, 31, required over 14 stitches, was scarred for life and
was almost forced to call off the big day after medics warned he might
need an eye removed.
His devastated bride Adele, 34, from Ashford, saw her groom's mangled
face for the first time as she walked down the aisle after only being
informed of the attack just hours before.
Scott Richards on his wedding day. James Eldridge Photography.
Attacker, Tyler Plumridge, 28, who flung the glass into Scott's face at
Ashford’s Singleton Barn was spared jail at Canterbury Crown Court
earlier this month.
Drunk stranger Plumridge, a security guard, lashed out after having
joined Scott's group at the quiet Sunday night pub quiz when he was
caught stealing a wallet and a phone.
He was asked to hand the stuff back and to leave the pub but instead
stripped to his pants before throwing a pint glass into Scott's face.
The couple claim that their £18,000 wedding day, for which they'd been
saving up for two years, was "almost totally ruined" by Plumridge's
actions.
Scott, a carpenter, said: "I still have nightmares about it now where I
wake up in a cold sweat and can't get back to sleep, the flashbacks are
terrible.
"The whole incident was just so out of the blue, we'd only gone out for
a few quiet drinks, but as soon as he threw the glass at my face there
was blood everywhere.
"I had to be rushed to A&E straight away where they spent hours picking
glass from my eye ball.
"Doctors thought they might have to take my whole eye out and advised
that I'd have to miss the wedding if so... it was awful.
"My wife, Adele, who I wasn't meant to be speaking to, as it was
technically our wedding day, was devastated when I called to tell her.
"The whole day was really hard as a result because I had a banging
headache, I was in so much pain and looked a right state for the
pictures.
"I was bruised, bandaged up and scarred - our two-year-old son was
clearly worried when he saw me looking all mangled up and kept asking if
I'd 'fallen over'.
"Thankfully the photographer was clever with the pics and we got some
decent ones where I look OK but it really was a nightmare."
The wedding, which took place at Cooling Castle Barn, on the Hoo
Peninsula, did eventually go ahead despite the incident but the couple
feel that their enjoyment of the special day was severely tainted by
what happened.
Both Adele and Scott, who have been together for five years, and have a
son, Oscar, feel severely let down by what they feel is a very lenient
sentence considering Scott's injuries.
Attacker, Plumridge, was handed a suspended sentence pleading guilty to
grievous bodily harm and was spared jailed but was ordered to pay Scott
£1,000 in compensation within three months.
Adele, who works in marketing, said: "I'm absolutely fuming about the
sentence, this vile man almost ruined the most important day of our
lives, never mind the health repercussions for Scott.
"I'm 100% sure that Plumridge knew that Scott was the groom and must
have had some idea of what he was doing when he smashed that glass into
my husband's face.
"Scott was forced to put a brave face on it for our whole wedding day
but it was clear that he wasn't himself.
"When I first saw him as I walked up the aisle, my stomach lurched, I
thought I might be sick... I just couldn't bare to see how bad the
damage was.
"He looked dreadful, despite my makeup artist having a go at disguising
some of the bruising etc.
"He was popping pain medication all day and had a banging headache
throughout.
"Our son was scared to even look at his own dad and kept asking me 'what
happened to Daddy?'
"On top of his dreadful injuries, Scott didn't even get a wink of sleep
that night so was shattered the whole wedding day.
"He didn't want to worry me about the attack and so didn't ring me until
6am on the morning of the wedding, I was shaking like a leaf after his
sister told me in tears that I needed to ring Scott.
"For one dreadful moment I thought I was getting stood up!
"We did discuss cancelling the whole thing but in the end decided not
to.
"I was late getting to the venue for my own wedding as after I'd spoken
to Scott I just sat in my car and cried hysterically for 45 minutes, I
couldn't believe it had all gone so wrong.
"Scott was late too as he couldn't even shower, his brother had to wash
all the glass and blood out of his hair by hand."
The newlyweds were forced to spend their first week as man and wife
shuttling to and from William Harvey Hospital in Ashford and specialist
eye hospital The Royal Victoria Hospital in Folkestone.
Adele said: "We were suppose to be in a happy newlywed bubble but
instead I was spending my entire time rubbing different creams into
Scott's injuries and taking him to appointments.
"At one point they were even worried he might not recover his sight in
the left eye at all.
"He was still not completely well by the time we went on honey moon to
the Dominican Republic two weeks later.
"He had to lie down a lot due to the migraines.
"Some of the scar's Scott has will never go now, the one on his nose is
bright red like a burn, the skin is all crinkly.
"But it's not just the physical side of things, Scott definitely isn't
the same care free person he was before the attack, he's much more wary
and anxious now and gets uncomfortable in busy, loud places.
"He used to be the most chilled guy before hand and now he's lost that,
it's so damaging what something like this can do.
"He's in a permanent state of high alert, it's so sad to see how much
it's affected him."
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