Brave victim of glass attack at Colchester pub speaks out

Lucy Nobile, 20, will need to pay for plastic surgery after thug James Booth smashed a glass into her face.

The brute used the base of the glass and drove it into the community volunteer’s face and throat at the Hole in the Wall pub, in Colchester.

An 8in shard was wedged deep into her neck and if the 4in deep cut was just 5mm lower, it would have severed her carotid artery and killed her.

She also suffered a torn cheek, a separated lip, a slice across her cheek, popped blood vessels in her eye and a chipped chin, and glass was driven into her nose and mouth.

Ipswich Crown Court heard how James Booth, 29, had drunk seven pints and two shots before carrying out the assault, which unfolded in September last year.

He approached Miss Nobile and her friend in the smoking area of the Hole in the Wall pub, asking the pair for a cigarette.

He began “badgering” the pair, before making “condescending” comments, the court heard.

When Miss Nobile was left alone with the defendant, she alleges he touched her inappropriately and made a further comment.

After returning inside, Miss Nobile was seen to approach Booth to remonstrate with him about the earlier incident.

Lucy Nobile will need extensive plastic surgery. Pictures: East News.

She lashed out at him after he appeared unapologetic, but the confrontation was “short-lived” and Miss Nobile turned away.

It was then that Booth, of Hakewill Way, Colchester, launched his attack.

Lucy said: “I had my back towards him and didn’t even see it coming. At first, I didn’t realise what had happened. I went to put my hand to my face but I couldn’t because I had glass hanging out of it.

“Then next thing I remember is waking up on the floor after passing out because of blood loss.

“The whole thing was traumatic. My friend Kai was standing next to me when it happened. He kept hold of me and was holding onto my neck so I didn’t bleed out. Other people in the pub ran out and got hold of him (Booth) until the police got there.”

James Booth

Lucy was taken to hospital but Covid regulations meant that her dad, who’d arrived at the pub, couldn’t stay with her.

“I was in so much distress. Being in that room alone was horrible. I had a laceration to my cheek that was 10 centimetres by five centimetres. It was a flap of skin that was peeling off.

“I had glass in my mouth, in my tongue, my lip had to get stitched back together because a shard of glass had separated my lip. I then had a deep cut along my neck from the impact, and I had a broken jaw. I had burst blood vessels in my right eye, and a lot of little cuts across my face.

“The glass only missed my jugular by five millimetres.”

Lucy Nobile will need extensive plastic surgery. Pictures: East News.

Lucy said the attack left her struggling physically and mentally but Booth’s sentencing has helped bring some closure.

“The first couple of weeks were the hardest because my face was so bruised. It hurt to eat, it hurt to drink. Part of me just wanted to shut down and recover. I wanted to close the door and say ‘Bye world’ but I couldn’t.

“I’m left with these scars for the rest of my life. I need to embrace it because I can’t hide them. They’re a part of me. It’s been really hard but I’m glad to say I’m coming out of the other side of it now.”

Lucy, who is hoping to follow her mum into the Probation Service and work rehabilitating prisoners, said she felt “relief” when Booth was sentenced.