An unsuspecting groom nearly lost an eye after being glassed during a quiet pub quiz the night before his wedding day - but still got to the church on time.

Scott Richards, 31, required over 14 stitches, was scarred for life and was almost forced to call off the big day after medics warned he might need an eye removed.

His devastated bride Adele, 34, from Ashford, saw her groom's mangled face for the first time as she walked down the aisle after only being informed of the attack just hours before.

WARNING: Graphic images below

Attacker, Tyler Plumridge, 28, who flung the glass into Scott's face at Ashford’s Singleton Barn was spared jail at Canterbury Crown Court earlier this month.

Drunk stranger Plumridge, a security guard, lashed out after having joined Scott's group at the quiet Sunday night pub quiz when he was caught stealing a wallet and a phone.

He was asked to hand the stuff back and to leave the pub but instead stripped to his pants before throwing a pint glass into Scott's face.

The couple claim that their £18,000 wedding day, for which they'd been saving up for two years, was "almost totally ruined" by Plumridge's actions.

Scott, a carpenter, said: "I still have nightmares about it now where I wake up in a cold sweat and can't get back to sleep, the flashbacks are terrible.

"The whole incident was just so out of the blue, we'd only gone out for a few quiet drinks, but as soon as he threw the glass at my face there was blood everywhere.

"I had to be rushed to A&E straight away where they spent hours picking glass from my eye ball.

"Doctors thought they might have to take my whole eye out and advised that I'd have to miss the wedding if so... it was awful.

"My wife, Adele, who I wasn't meant to be speaking to, as it was technically our wedding day, was devastated when I called to tell her.

"The whole day was really hard as a result because I had a banging headache, I was in so much pain and looked a right state for the pictures.

"I was bruised, bandaged up and scarred - our two-year-old son was clearly worried when he saw me looking all mangled up and kept asking if I'd 'fallen over'.

"Thankfully the photographer was clever with the pics and we got some decent ones where I look OK but it really was a nightmare."

The wedding, which took place at Cooling Castle Barn, on the Hoo Peninsula, did eventually go ahead despite the incident but the couple feel that their enjoyment of the special day was severely tainted by what happened.

Both Adele and Scott, who have been together for five years, and have a son, Oscar, feel severely let down by what they feel is a very lenient sentence considering Scott's injuries.

Attacker, Plumridge, was handed a suspended sentence pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm and was spared jailed but was ordered to pay Scott £1,000 in compensation within three months.

Adele, who works in marketing, said: "I'm absolutely fuming about the sentence, this vile man almost ruined the most important day of our lives, never mind the health repercussions for Scott.

"I'm 100% sure that Plumridge knew that Scott was the groom and must have had some idea of what he was doing when he smashed that glass into my husband's face.

"Scott was forced to put a brave face on it for our whole wedding day but it was clear that he wasn't himself.

"When I first saw him as I walked up the aisle, my stomach lurched, I thought I might be sick... I just couldn't bare to see how bad the damage was.

"He looked dreadful, despite my makeup artist having a go at disguising some of the bruising etc.

"He was popping pain medication all day and had a banging headache throughout.

"Our son was scared to even look at his own dad and kept asking me 'what happened to Daddy?'

"On top of his dreadful injuries, Scott didn't even get a wink of sleep that night so was shattered the whole wedding day.

"He didn't want to worry me about the attack and so didn't ring me until 6am on the morning of the wedding, I was shaking like a leaf after his sister told me in tears that I needed to ring Scott.

"For one dreadful moment I thought I was getting stood up!

"We did discuss cancelling the whole thing but in the end decided not to.

"I was late getting to the venue for my own wedding as after I'd spoken to Scott I just sat in my car and cried hysterically for 45 minutes, I couldn't believe it had all gone so wrong.

"Scott was late too as he couldn't even shower, his brother had to wash all the glass and blood out of his hair by hand."

The newlyweds were forced to spend their first week as man and wife shuttling to and from William Harvey Hospital in Ashford and specialist eye hospital The Royal Victoria Hospital in Folkestone.

Adele said: "We were suppose to be in a happy newlywed bubble but instead I was spending my entire time rubbing different creams into Scott's injuries and taking him to appointments.

"At one point they were even worried he might not recover his sight in the left eye at all.

"He was still not completely well by the time we went on honey moon to the Dominican Republic two weeks later.

"He had to lie down a lot due to the migraines.

"Some of the scar's Scott has will never go now, the one on his nose is bright red like a burn, the skin is all crinkly.

"But it's not just the physical side of things, Scott definitely isn't the same care free person he was before the attack, he's much more wary and anxious now and gets uncomfortable in busy, loud places.

"He used to be the most chilled guy before hand and now he's lost that, it's so damaging what something like this can do.

"He's in a permanent state of high alert, it's so sad to see how much it's affected him."

Read more: All the latest news from Ashford

For more real life stories, click here.