Luke Watts from Theale denies racist GBH pub attack

A RACIST thug punched an Asian man unconscious in an unprovoked pub attack, a jury was told.

Luke Watts then sucker-punched another dark-skinned victim who had been standing innocently nearby, it is alleged.

Mr Watts is on trial for a racially aggravated offence of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Vijay Sukamaran on Sunday, July 23, last year.

He also denies a second, racially aggravated assault on the same occasion.

Jurors at Reading Crown Court have been shown CCTV footage of Mr Watts, aged 32, of Theale High Street, drinking in Ye Olde Swan in Burnham, Buckinghamshire.

Mr Watts is seen to walk over to a table where Mr Sukaraman is chatting to a friend and, apparently without provocation, punch him to the face.

Mr Sukaraman, slumps, senseless, while Mr Watts walks over to another Asian man standing with his hands in his pockets and punches him, too.

Kate Hare, opening the prosecution case on Tuesday, July 16, told jurors: “That – unsurprisingly given the CCTV footage – isn’t in dispute.

“Mr Watts accepts inflicting grievous bodily harm in count one (of the indictment) and assault by beating in count two.

“Your sole task will be to decide whether the offences were racially aggravated or not.”

She told the court that, although the CCTV footage was silent, they would hear from witnesses that Mr Watts had “unleashed a tirade” towards his victims, calling them P****s and referring to their skin colour.

Giving evidence, Mr Sukaraman said: “I felt someone watching me… he walked outside my peripheral vision so I couldn’t see him

“I felt a really large impact on my nose.”

Mr Sukaraman said he was knocked unconscious by the blow from Mr Watts, a burly man whose distinctive appearance includes tattoos covering half his face.

Under cross examination by Mr Watts’ barrister, Mr Sukaraman conceded that it was not, in fact, the first time he had seen Mr Watts.

He accepted that, in days prior to the attack, Mr Watts had grabbed him by the collar and falsely accused him of kicking his dog.

The trial continues.