A former barmaid who was brutally beaten in a random attack has revealed she is still suffering almost two years later as the thug who assaulted her is jailed.

Drunk Gregory Lees headbutted Lex Giggs as she took a cigarette break at Earls in Maidstone, then punched her repeatedly as she lay on the ground, fracturing her eye socket and cheekbone.

As 34-year-old supermarket worker Lees, formerly of Larkfield, starts five years and five months behind bars, Miss Giggs said neither her physical nor mental scars have healed.

The 30-year-old said: “It’s really affected me, emotionally and mentally.

“It’s made it hard to socialise. It’s made me, not paranoid, but worried, especially when I’m around drunk people.

“I’ve always been a confident person but this ruins your confidence.

“My family and friends were devastated and really concerned about me. They couldn’t believe it had happened.

“His behaviour that night was bizarre, there’s no other way to describe it. I believe it was a homophobic attack, because of the things he was saying. I’ve never had any abuse like that in my life.

“After two years of feeling anxious I’m just relieved he’s been sentenced.

“My feelings of anxiety got worse when the court case was coming up. I’m hoping over time I’ll get better.

“It hasn’t sunk in enough yet for me to know how I feel about the length of the sentence.”

Miss Giggs needed stitches and an operation at Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead to move bone in her face back into place and she still experiences “weird” sensations in her cheek.

She has a scar on her head that is often visible through her short hair.

Miss Giggs worked her notice at Earls before taking a job at a care home for people with dementia and Alzheimer’s, and this month she will begin working as a tutor, helping educate adults looking to return to work.

“I just really enjoy helping people,” she said.

She added: “I would like to thank my family and friends for being so supportive over the last two years and my girlfriend Patry Fernandez for being an amazing person who has given me my confidence back.”

Lees, formerly of Park Way, Maidstone, and Sherwood Avenue, Larkfield, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He and his girlfriend at the time sat near Miss Giggs just before midnight, on July 2, 2014, and he asked her questions before swearing at her.

When she asked him to leave he launched the attack, which was caught on CCTV.

Lees told police he suffered from blackouts could not remember exactly what happened but did remembered hitting Miss Giggs while she was on the ground.

At Maidstone Crown Court Judge Jeremy Carey described the onslaught at “repugnant”.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Scott Ennals said: "This was an unprovoked attack that left an innocent woman deeply traumatised and with a fractured cheekbone that required specialist surgery to fix.

"Gregory Lees has shown remorse for what he did but that will provide little comfort to a victim whose life was turned upside down by his callous actions.

"Alcohol is no excuse for his behaviour that night and I hope he exercises better self-control in the future if this is how he acts when he drinks to excess."