Frankie Martin, 28, was sentenced to 20 months in prison
A thug who knocked-out a stranger in a ‘sickening’ unprovoked attack and dived into the sea in a bid to evade capture has been jailed.
Frankie Martin, 28, was enjoying a family holiday in Weymouth, Dorset, when he lost his mobile phone and wrongly assumed Andrew Casserley was to blame.
Martin, dad-of-two, can be seen in CCTV footage suddenly running across the street and swinging a knock-out punch at innocent Mr Casserley, rendering him unconscious.
Then, wearing only flip-flops, Martin races towards the nearest beach – away from Mr Casserley’s girlfriend who chases him – and dives into the sea.
Police positioned a searchlight over the rushing waves for an hour where Martin remained in the water before giving himself up when the coldness became too much.
Footage showed Martin, of Great Wakering, Southend-on-Sea, being led into a police van wrapped in a towel.
Martin, a bricklayer, has been jailed for 20 months for the attack that happened last summer on July 10.
Bournemouth Crown Court heard how Martin and a friend had spent most of the day drinking.
Wearing only flip-flops, Martin races towards the nearest beach to evade capture after hitting an innocent man in the face
Towards the end of the night Martin lost his mobile phone and wrongly assumed Mr Casserley, an innocent stranger, had something to do with it.
Simon Jones, prosecuting, said: ‘What happens after the fight is that the two men [Martin and his friend] flee the scene.
‘They run to the beach and jump in the sea. Emergency services are called to fish them out and they are then arrested.’
The court heard a police officer waded out into the water and told Martin ‘to stop being stupid.’
Mr Casserley suffered a broken jaw and had a metal plate fitted.
Images of his bloodied face were shown to the court and in a victim impact statement Mr Casserley said hehad been left ‘extremely distressed’ by the attack.
Police positioned a searchlight over the rushing waves for an hour where Martin remained in the water before giving himself up when the coldness became too much
Martin admitted causing grievous bodily harm without intent and two counts of assault by beating.
He has 27 previous convictions for 52 offences including punching a police officer and a woman.
Nick Bonehill, defending, said: ‘For some reason that he cannot explain, he got it into his head that the victim had something to do with taking his mobile phone.’
He said his client was ‘significantly in drink’ when the offences occurred.
Judge Jonathan Fuller QC said the attack against Mr Casserley was ‘sickening’.
Sentencing Martin to 20 months in prison, the judge told him: ‘This was street violence at night in a public place.’