Man went into tattoo parlour, demanded to check the owner's phone then battered him

A jealous thug left a man with a broken jaw after he wrongly thought he was having an affair with his girlfriend.

Curtis Hurst, 32, went to the tattoo parlour owned by the man in Bury and asked to speak to him in ‘private’.

He then demanded the boss's phone to check the messages between his partner and the man, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

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When the man said he didn’t have his phone on him, Hurst, of Radcliffe, began patting him down before the man pushed him away. Immediately, Hurst punched the victim three or four times to the face with such force that his head hit the wall behind him.

The man was left with a broken jaw which required a metal plate, two teeth which were knocked out, and a gash to the back of his head.

Following a trial, Hurst was acquitted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, but had earlier pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of unlawful wounding. Today he was handed a suspended prison sentence.

The court heard that Hurst’s now ex-girlfriend had a business premises above the tattoo parlour at the time.

On March 28 2019, Hurst arrived at the tattoo parlour on Rochdale Road at around 2.30pm, and was let in by another member of staff before asking to speak to the man in private.

They both went into a small kitchen when Hurst demanded to see the man’s phone.

“He said he did not have his phone on him, and you disbelieved that and started to pat him down to see if you could find his phone. When you did that, he responded by pushing you away from him,” Judge John Potter said.

“In turn, you responded to that by attacking him unlawfully. You are to be