A MAN who saw his pregnant sister assaulted by her boyfriend has been handed a community order for leaving the other man blind in one eye.

John MacDonald, aged 39, was with his sister Kylie and her partner David Barnes at their home in Glenfield Square, Farnworth, when the incident occurred in February, a judge at Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

The couple got into an argument during which Barnes grabbed the pregnant Ms MacDonald by her throat, prompting her brother to intervene.

However, during the fight which followed, MacDonald repeatedly punched the other man and the pair fell to the floor where Barnes ended up with broken glass in his left eye, leaving him blind.

Recorder Matthew Corbett-Jones told MacDonald: “You were initially acting defensively but went beyond what was reasonable.”

He explained that he would take into account the defensive act, as well as MacDonald’s plea of guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm and the fact that he had been in custody since April.

“This is a difficult case to sentence because your culpability is low,” the judge said. “But the harm that flowed from your actions is extremely high. The effect of what happened that day will remain with Mr Barnes for the rest of his life.”

Psychiatric reports on MacDonald revealed that he suffers with paranoid schizophrenia as well as having ongoing problems with alcohol.

As a result, he was handed a sentence which focused on him attending both rehabilitation and a Thinking Skills programme, which centres on encouraging people to make more appropriate decisions and stay out of prison.

In total, MacDonald, of Dunoon Drive, Sharples, was given an 18-month community order in which he will have to work with representatives from the two programmes and complete at least 25 sessions of Thinking Skills or risk further punishment.

Before releasing him, Recorder Corbett-Jones made a final appeal to MacDonald.

“I want you to focus all of your efforts on engaging with the programme and the rehabilitation,” he said.

“Please take seriously the advice of those who are trying to help you. I understand it is very difficult but, in the times that you are tempted [by alcohol] think of the time you have just spent in custody.”