A single punch was enough to land Alan Prendergast in hospital
A single punch was enough to land Alan Prendergast in hospital
A man in his 60s says he is “fearful to go out” after suffering life-changing injuries during an assault in Liverpool city centre. Alan Prendergast, 62, was enjoying an afternoon on Mathew Street in Liverpool city centre on December 27 last year when the incident happened.
The former musician, who lives in Walton, went to the Cavern Pub to watch some live performances, before heading for a drink further along Mathew Street. Outside one of the other pubs on the street, he got into an altercation with Joshua Collins. The ECHO understands Collins was working as a bouncer on Mathew Street at the time of the assault.
Speaking to the ECHO, Alan said: “I don’t remember anything from the attack. All I know is that I spent around an hour in the Cavern and left to go to another pub further down the street. Then I was attacked outside by a bouncer. I was punched in the face and I hit my head on the concrete. I ended up with a cracked skull.”
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Alan was rushed by ambulance to the Royal Hospital, where he spent the next three days recovering from his ordeal. Medics carried out a CT scan and discovered he had a bleed on the brain. Over the following weeks, Alan was in and out of hospital as the seriousness of his injuries became clear.
Since the attack, Alan says his life has changed “beyond recognition”. He said: “The impact on me has been terrible. I want people to know what happened to me and how it’s affected me. I don’t go out now – I’m too fearful.
“My balance is gone and I’ve put on a lot of weight. I’m really down about it. The brain injury made me lose my sense of taste and smell. I used to do a lot cooking but can’t taste anything now so I don’t see the point.”
Alan has been given a brain injury identity card, which states: “I have a brain injury, and as a result, I get confused, I get frustrated and I lack motivation”. The personalised card, issued by brain injury charity Headway, is designed to provide brain injury survivors with added confidence in everyday social scenarios.
According to Headway, the more severe the brain injury, the more pronounced the effects are likely to be. The charity said: “Some people may spend time in a coma, or experience a more prolonged reduced awareness state. During the early stages of recovery, brain injury survivors often go through a stage called post-traumatic amnesia, where they have no continuous memory of day-to-day events and their behaviour may be very uncharacteristic and confused.
“A brain injury can cause behavioural and emotional changes, hormonal imbalances, difficulties with cognition and memory, a range of communication problems, physical effects and, very commonly, fatigue.”
On Friday, October 25, Joshua Collins, of Southport Road, Bootle, was sentenced for wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent. Collins, who is now 21 but was 20 at the time of the assault, was sentenced by Liverpool Crown Court to two years in prison, suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to do 180 hours of unpaid work for the community and pay Alan £1,000 in compensation.
Responding to the sentence, Alan, who is himself a former security guard, said: “I never had to punch anyone when I was working. They shouldn’t be doing things like that. A suspended sentence isn’t good enough.
“I know with the way things are there are no prison places, but honestly, the impact on me has been horrendous. I can’t work so I’m living off my savings. Without my dog, Coco, I don’t think I’d survive.”