Wedding guest who glassed best man and injured bride after calling her a “fat b****” is jailed – WBNews

A WEDDING guest from hell wrecked the bride’s big day when he called her a “fat b****” and glassed the best man at the reception.

Marc Sullivan, a 32-year-old lorry driver, was at the reception at the Aztec Hotel in Bristol when trouble began.

A jury heard how he told fellow guest Kevin Bebbington that he should not be there because he was gay, and when best man Andrew Gregory tried to intervene as peacemaker a struggle broke out.

Sullivan then struck Mr Gregory on the head with a glass, Bristol crown court was told.

The violent guest, of Great Dowles, Cadbury Heath, Bristol, denied causing actual bodily harm but was convicted by a jury.

Recorder Richard Mawhinney told him: “Mr Gregory tried to make the peace. You turned your aggression towards him.”

Gregory Gordon, prosecuting, told the court: “Daniel and Cathy Whitehorne had got married that day and this should have been one of the happiest days of their lives.

“But it was spoilt by an altercation between two of the guests and resulted in the best man, Mr Gregory, being struck on the head with a glass.”

The reception began at 1pm and the violence flared at 7pm, just moments after Mr Gregory had made his speech.

Mr Sullivan went out to have a cigarette and guest Mr Bebbington was already there doing the same.

Mr Gordon said: “Words were exchanged between the two men. It escalated into an argument, during which the defendant made some derogatory comments to Mr Bebbington about him being gay.

“One of those who objected to that comment was Mr Gregory, who was standing nearby. Concerned at the defendant’s behaviour, he decided to intervene. He challenged the defendant and told him his comment was out of order.

“Mr Sullivan then stubbed out his cigarette in Mr Gregory’s beard.

“By this time a duty manager had arrived on the scene and he took Mr Gregory back with him into the lobby. But the defendant followed.

“Mr Gregory took hold of the defendant by the jacket lapels and held him against a wall. He then deliberately raised a glass and retaliated by smashing it over Mr Gregory’s head.

“The glass shattered. The two men were then pulled apart and separated.

“A police officer arrived and saw that the defendant had a bad cut on his right hand.

“Mr Gregory was spoken to. A few hours later he started to vomit and there was blood in the vomit, so he was taken to hospital. There was bleeding inside his mouth, two cuts on his forehead, a cut to the cheek and some bruising.

“He was also suffering from headaches but a CT scan revealed no other problems.”

Mr Gordon said Sullivan was interviewed by police more than a month after the incident, and said he had been in a scuffle but denied putting out a cigarette on Mr Gregory’s beard or hitting him with a glass.

“He claims the injuries were caused by accident and that the glass connected with Mr Gregory’s head accidentally,” said Mr Gordon.

“We say it was intentional.”

Mr Gregory told the jury: “The impact of that glass on my head was no accident. That amount of impact could not have been accidental.”

Mrs Whitehorne wept in court as she recounted how a “fine, happy day” turned to disaster.

She said: “Someone came and told me that Marc was kicking off downstairs.

“I went down to see what was happening. Marc and Andy were kind of having a go at each other – they were in each other’s faces. They were very close, squaring up to each other.

“I tried to break it up, I told them to stop. Marc completely ignored me. He looked like he was very aggressive towards Andy.

“Marc then went really close to Andy and Andy pushed him away, a hands-open push.

“Marc fell into the window wall in the foyer. Andy just stepped back. Marc got up shouting something and then smashed a glass around Andy’s face. He had been holding the glass all the way through.

“He hit him very hard. The glass completely shattered. Andy went on the floor on his back and then Marc pounced on him. He got on top of him. Kevin Bebbington grabbed Marc and got him off. Marc was angry, he was shouting and swearing

“He was out to hurt

“I had tried to stop Marc before this but I was in my wedding dress and couldn’t move much, to be fair.

“My maid of honour dragged me away. Marc was calling me a fat b****.

“I had an injury to the lower part of my arm from a piece of flying glass that hit me.”

Sullivan was jailed for two years.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368