Man's jaw broken in random attack after late shift

A 19-year-old who was violently attacked on his way home from work has called for more late night public transport so hospitality workers can get home safely.

Sonny Barnett from Liverpool was punched by a stranger as he was looking for a rental scooter to ride home after public transport services had ended after his shift at a city centre restaurant.

Sonny said for hospitality workers like him the cost of a taxi home is too much.

Metro mayor Steve Rotheram, speaking on BBC Radio Merseyside in response to Sonny's story, said until buses were brought under public control, there was nothing to compel firms to run them later into the night.

Sonny said: "People who work in hospitality aren't paid enough to be able to get Ubers home after every shift because that's just half your wage just gone."

He said he had finished a 12-hour hour shift and was searching for a scooter when he was punched by a random stranger.

"So I left work and there was no buses or trains so I decided to get a scooter on which I'd done a few times before," he said.

"I saw a man jogging towards me, I thought he was jogging towards his friends, as he got up to me he punched me in the face and shouted 'bang' and then jogged off.

"I never spoke to him, didn't even look at the fella, just got hit for no reason at all.

Sonny's cheekbone was broken in three places and he also suffered a broken eye socket, broken nose and broken jaw.

"I had to get a seven hour surgery and five plates put in my face," he said.

"My face swelled up to twice the size and was misshapen from the broken bones.

"My eye was like a golf ball and I couldn't open it, it was just full of blood and I was unable to open my mouth because of the jaw displacement.

"I had over 30 stitches down past my ear and the surgeon said I was lucky that I didn't lose my sight."

Merseyside Police shared CCTV images of a man they want to speak to over the assault which happened on 11 April but no-one has been arrested for the assault.

Sonny said although he was still recovering he had started to go back to work on day shifts.

"My face is still disfigured and swollen but I need to get back to normality," he said.

"My work place have been very supportive and have given me early shifts going forward so that I can go home in the daylight and get public transport.

"There 100% needs to be more buses and trains."

Speaking on BBC Radio Merseyside's Hot Seat with Tony Snell, Rotheram said his hands were currently tied over bus services.

He said there was little he could do about running late night bus services until the city region takes full control of running the bus network.

"What I want to do is to take the buses back, and then we can decide where there is, because some demand, we can run buses later at night," he said.

"That's the only way public transport is going to run further than the times that it already does."

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