A FATHER who was slashed in the face with a belt by a stranger while on a night out has said "no sentence would be good enough" for the thug who changed his life forever.

Paul Filtness, from Clacton, was emerging from the toilets of a town centre bar in February 2019 when he was attacked from behind by Zachary Jagger.

The victim, who was 34 at the time of the attack, was slashed across the face with a studded belt.

He was left with a "grave laceration" spanning 15cm from his temple to his chin.

The wound was "2cm to 3cm deep" and cut through fat and muscle.

At a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court earlier this month, Judge David Turner QC said: "It follows it must have been a blow of very considerable force.

"This happened in the context of bar life and is just the sort of thing which terrifies the public on an evening out.

"This was mindless violence of the worst kind."

Jagger, of Alton Park Road, Clacton, admitted wounding with intent and was jailed for six years.

Mr Filtness, who works as a painter and decorator, admitted he had given up hope of seeing justice done after facing a three year wait for court proceedings to conclude.

He was with close friend Daniel Findlay when the attack took place.

"It's still sinking in now," said Mr Filtness.

"Me and Dan, we're both disappointed with [the sentence], but anything wasn't going to be good enough.

"It's something and we can start moving on with life.

"At the end of the day, I still go to counselling, I still deal with that, now I can actually start processing and dealing with it.

"It's been a battle inside my head, with my mental health.

"Things weren't too good afterwards, I did have a breakdown, but I did have to break to rebuild."

Father-of-two Mr Filtness said he is able to go out on the town when part of a big group, with friends he trusts.

"I've tried to have a social life," he said.

"If we do go out there is a big group of us. I don't go to the toilets in bars on my own, that's one thing that's come out of this."