A woman whose skull was fractured in an unprovoked beating feels she can begin her life again after her attacker’s appeal was rejected.

The woman, in her 20s, needed brain surgery after being assaulted by Dale Teer at The Plaza in Stevenage on June 14 last year.

Teer, of Winifred Road, Bedford, had his appeal against a 10-year sentence for grievous bodily harm rejected by judges at London’s Appeal Court on Thursday.

The 35-year-old was found guilty of the crime by a jury at Cambridge Crown Court in November last year and was sentenced by a judge at the court to 10 years behind bars a month later.

On the night he approached the woman who was standing outside The Standard Bearer pub with friends and assaulted her with a ceramic tankard in an unprovoked attack.

He then repeatedly kicked her in the head after she fell to the ground, fracturing her skull.

His victim, who had been on a night out with friends, was then taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge by ambulance and later underwent brain surgery.

Det Con Emma Landucci, who investigated the incident, revealed that the victim, who does not wish to be named, had been very nervous when she found out that Teer was planning to appeal his sentence and is ‘relieved’ by the news that it has been rejected.

She said: “The victim has had the worry of knowing for some months now that Teer wanted to appeal his sentence.

“She is naturally relieved that the appeal has been refused and now finally feels that she can begin to start over again.

“She still suffers as a result of her terrible injuries and the road to recovery has been a long one for her, but hopefully now she can finally start to move on properly.”

A member of the public who was there on the night of the assault and does not wish to be named said: “I didn’t really see that much of it but someone just came in and said a bloke was beating this woman up.

“They said it was totally random and she looked in a really bad way.

“I can’t believe that someone would do such a thing to another person and I am just glad he’s still locked up.”

After his release Teer will have to serve a further two years on licence in the community.