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Friend blinded after alleged attacker Barrie Renton throws glass in game of 'I've Never'

Barrie Renton is accused of throwing a glass at a pal
Barrie Renton is accused of throwing a glass at a pal

A man was blinded in one eye after a drink-fuelled card game went horribly wrong.

Canterbury Crown Court heard four friends had been playing "I've Never".

The board game – likened to Truth or Dare – resulted in victim Will Edwards losing the sight in his left eye after being struck in the face by a flying beer glass.

His attacker Barrie Renton, 32, was angry that Mr Edwards had previously slept with his girlfriend Chantelle O’Sullivan.

And during the drinking game – promoted as "the outrageous game of truth" – Renton is alleged to have taunted his rival over the one-night stand.

A jury heard how players were encouraged to down shots of Jagermeister or Cactus Jack if they had never done something when challenged.

It was then that the jealous Renton proposed: “I have never went with my mate’s girl...”

Chantelle, from the Isle of Sheppey, said that it had been “a dig” at the fact she and Mr Edwards had a “brief relationship” months earlier.

Renton then said that his friend should drink his shot of alcohol, the jury was told.

He was then alleged to have taken out his anger on his pal because he had slept with his girlfriend – even though the brief fling had been before Chantelle’s relationship with Renton.

Renton, of Woodland Avenue, Birchington has admitted causing the injury which blinded Mr Edwards, 21, – but denies doing it deliberately.

The case was heard at Canterbury Crown Court
The case was heard at Canterbury Crown Court

Prosecutor Andrew Espley told the court how Renton and his girlfriend Chantelle were spending the evening in October with Mr Edwards and a female friend - Chantelle’s step-cousin Jamie O’Sullivan, also from Sheppey.

The prosecutor said the four played games, including Cluedo, which they played in the conservatory.

He said the atmosphere changed when they played “I’ve Never..” and Renton became aggressive towards his love rival.

Mr Espley said: “The case in a nutshell is that Renton threw a glass at his then friend Mr Edwards because he was jealous of the fact that he had had a brief relationship with Chantelle.

“The glass smashed on impact with Mr Edwards’s face, blinding him in his left eye and doing other damage, which has left him with a permanent scar.

“The Crown’s case is that Renton deliberately threw the glass at Mr Edwards, fully intending to do him really serious harm.”

Renton, who has pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent, later told police that he had thrown the glass over his shoulder in frustration and anger but had not known that Mr Edwards was there.

Mr Espley said Mr Edwards, with blood pouring from his eye, left Renton’s home and went to a nearby primary school where the ambulance services were called and he was taken to hospitals in Margate and then, later, Ashford.

"I didn’t know why Barrie was behaving that way but I gathered that he was jealous about me and Chantelle” - Will Edwards

Mr Edwards, who gave evidence wearing a black eye patch, said they had all got together in October “to let down our hair, play some board games and have a few drinks”.

He said: “I knew that Barrie and Chantelle had been going out for a couple of weeks but I was oblivious about why he was so annoyed.

“Chantelle and I were friends but we had been intimate a couple weeks before the incident.

"I didn’t know why Barrie was behaving that way but I gathered that he was jealous about me and Chantelle.”

Mr Edwards claimed that before the glass throwing, Renton had grabbed him by the throat and had been angry and swearing.

“I said to him: 'Come on, mate, we are supposed to be pals', but he just didn’t listen," he added.

The trial continues.


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