A DANGEROUS thug who left a stranger with horrific facial injuries after a frenzied attack in a nightclub has been jailed.

John Kalema was in Elements in Station Road, Clacton, when he approached Lacey Knight and a group of her friends who were waiting at the bar.

After a short conversation, Kalema began repeatedly punching her in face until she fell backwards and hit her head.

A bystander tried to stop the attack by hitting Kalema on the back with a pool cue but failed to deter him.

Miss Knight was left with internal bleeding to her face and suffered fractures to her nose, cheeks and jaw.

She was initially taken to Colchester General Hospital for treatment but was transferred to Broomfield Hospital for surgery on her injuries and missed three months of work.

Kalema, who has a string of previous convictions for violence, was bundled out of the club by a friend, but was eventually tracked down after a police appeal for information was released and his ex-partner told police who he was.

Halstead Gazette:

Injuries - Lacey Knight

Chris Waymont, mitigating, said Kalema was sorry for his actions.

He said: “It was an unplanned, spontaneous incident.

“What is clear is his remorse for what happened and his embarrassment for his actions.

“He did not have the best start in life.”

Kalema, 26, admitted grievous bodily harm at an earlier court hearing.

Judge David Turner QC jailed him for three years at Chelmsford Crown Court and said he wished he had the power to hand down a longer jail term.

He said: “You perpetrated an attack in a nightclub on a complete stranger.

“This carries a maximum term of five years which with this degree of violence seems woefully inadequate.

“This was an ugly offence in a public place where people where supposed to be having fun.

“It was unprovoked, inexplicable, gratuitous, terrifying violence.

“It looked to me like a frenzy of blows - this was severe brutality.”

In a victim personal statement Miss Knight said she had struggled badly to sleep since the attack in December last year and her relationships with friends and family had been affected.