A hairdresser was left blind in one eye after a man hurled a remote control at her face during a petty row at a drunken sleepover party.
Natasha Robinson, 18, was struck by the device when it was thrown back at her by Tyler Basnett, 29, who had inadvertently been injured by the remote moments earlier.
Basnett, from New Mills in Derbyshire, had asked Ms Robinson to ‘chuck over’ the device so he could change the channel, but it bounced off his knee and hit him in the mouth.
The father-of-one had shouted ‘What the f***, are you being serious?’ at the teenager as he nursed a cut lip, before hurling the remote back at her which struck her in the face.
Ms Robinson was left with a blackened right eye and a 2cm cut to her eyelid, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
Natasha Robinson (right), 18, was struck by the device when it was thrown back at her by Tyler Basnett (left), 29, who had inadvertently been injured by the remote moments earlier.
She applied antiseptic to the wound and later sought medical help at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, where fluid was found at the rear of her eyeball and a blood clot was located.
The teenager was left with permanent blurred vision following the incident on January 6 last year.
Basnett had claimed he was acting in ‘self defence’, telling an eyewitness: ‘It’s her fault, she hit me first.’
He was branded a ‘coward’ by a judge at Minshull Street Crown Court as he was jailed for 20 months having earlier admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm.
The incident had taken place in January last year after Ms Robinson and six friends including Basnett had been invited to a sleepover party at her uncle’s home in New Mills.
Prosecutor Tom Heath said: ‘The evening turned into a social gathering with alcohol being consumed by all the parties. The night appeared to have gone well.
‘At 3am or 4am the parties were still up drinking and the parties had consumed around five or six cans of cider. The victim describes herself as having got ‘seven out of ten’ drunk.
‘The defendant was very animated throughout the evening and at 4am the victim was sat in the living room at the end of the sofa watching TV. The remote control was next to her and he asked her to ‘chuck the remote.’
Basnett had claimed he was acting in ‘self defence’ after the incident, telling an eyewitness: ‘It’s her fault, she hit me first.’ Pictured: Basnett outside Minshull Street Crown Court
‘She did so as one might throw a frisbee but the device struck the defendant on his knee and the top of his leg.
‘He said in response “What the f***, are you being serious?” The defendant believed he had been hit deliberately and hit her back with it.
‘She felt sharp pain in her right eye and blood was dripping from her cheek.’
Ms Robinson was taken into the kitchen for assistance, and Basnett followed insisting ‘it’s her fault, she hit me first,’ the court heard.
Her friend applied antiseptic to the injury and Basnett left the property around 20 minutes later.
‘The victim did not seek medical help or contact police that evening and when she woke up later she had a cut to her eye, her eye was blood shot and her vision was blurred. She had a black eye,’ Mr Heath continued.
The teenager was left with permanent blurred vision following the incident on January 6 last year
‘She sought medical help at Stepping Hill and fluid was found at the rear of her eye ball and a blood clot had formed by January 14 or 15. Two injections were required.
‘At Manchester Eye Hospital on January 18 it was confirmed that the injury would have a permanent effect on her vision.’
Basnett, who has previous convictions including battery, had believed he was ‘deliberately hit by the complainant and says he hit the complainant in a brief period of retaliation’, his lawyer James Preece said.
‘The defendant says he is sorry and is full of remorse for his actions,’ Mr Preece added.
Sentencing, Judge John Potter told Barnett: ‘You threw the remote back at her deliberately.
‘Perhaps your judgement was impaired by alcohol but you lost your temper and decided to retaliate. This behaviour was completely inappropriate, disproportionate, harmful and unlawful. You used the remote as a weapon and caused serious injury to her eye.
‘That was a cowardly act towards a young woman and there was no possible justification for it.
‘She will always have a scar on her eyelid which she is self conscious about, and she is vulnerable to cataracts in her eye earlier than others.
‘This offence was so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified.’