A Queenstown doorman who received about 20 stitches to his face following a serious assault yesterday morning, considers himself lucky.
The 23-year-old man, who did not wish to be named or have his photo taken, spoke to the Otago Daily Times about 12 hours after he was punched in the face with a glass beer handle outside The Buffalo Club on Brecon St.
His right eyelid was almost swollen shut with cuts and scratches around his right cheek and temple, and on the left side of his forehead.
However, he was counting his blessings yesterday after being told he was 0.5mm away from losing his right eye completely.
A man handed himself in to Queenstown police last night over the alleged assault.
The incident occurred at the busy nightclub, where the man had been working for the past 18 months after moving to Queenstown from Auckland.
He had been in the process of removing a patron who was getting his jacket, when an English tourist aged between 20 and 25 began to verbally abuse the doorman for kicking out his friend.
The man said he eventually removed the abusive English-man, but when he got outside the front doors, he realised the patron was still holding a glass handle.
"I could see by how hard he was holding on to the glass that he was thinking of doing something."
The Englishman's girlfriend had positioned herself between the two, and was trying to calm her boyfriend down, but while she was pushing the doorman away, it gave the offender "a free line of sight to punch me".
"I saw it coming. It wasn't painful when it happened, I was just really, really angry. His girlfriend pulled him away and they started walking.
"I was standing there telling them to come back ... I started walking after them. One eye was full of blood and my vision was blurry."
The man said he didn't initially think his injury was serious - after wiping his hand over his face he removed some glass, but didn't believe he needed stitches.
However, St John Ambulance transported him to Lakes District Hospital where he was given stitches but "lost count at 15".
"My friend counted 20. The doctor told me half a millimetre closer, and I would have lost my eye."
The incident was the only time the man had ever been assaulted while at work, but it had not put him off going back to the job.
"I expected something was going to happen [one day]. You expect dickheads here and there, but you don't expect [to be] bottled.
"I think this place is still safer than Auckland . . . I reckon the violence level is pretty low."
The man said he would be back at work already if his employers let him, but he had learnt one valuable lesson as a result of yesterday's incident.
"Next time I'll take the glass off him inside."
Detective Matt Jones said a man handed himself in to police last night over the incident.
The man was charged with wounding with reckless disregard and would appear in the Queenstown District Court today.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact the Queenstown police on (03) 441-1600.
