‘We’re protecting our kids…’ rioter told he displayed ‘extraordinary level of ignorance’

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October 20, 2024
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Steven Miller was one of the latest rioters to face justice

A rioter who launched vile abuse outside a hotel housing asylum seekers was told he displayed an ‘‘extraordinary level of ignorance’.

Steven Miller launched into a tirade aimed at an asylum seeker being escorted into the building, as well as a police officer. He was one of up to 70 people who attended the protest outside the hotel on Oldham Road in Newton Heath, after false information was posted online about the alleged perpetrator of the killing of three girls in Southport.

The disorder in north Manchester came after a Facebook post which read: “Let’s get them out. “6pm today. Stand up and take note, because if you don’t, no-one will.”

Police attended on July 31 as thugs launched missiles towards the building and officers, including bricks and bottles. A bus came under attack and the driver was injured. Others including 38-year-old Miller launched vile verbal abuse.

In footage played to the court, Miller could be heard calling an asylum seeker a ‘nonce’ and asked ‘why are you here?’ In another video, which police discovered on his mobile phone, Miller had filmed officers who were trying to move the mob away from Oldham Road.

Miller, of Devon Street, Farnworth, could be heard saying: “We’re peaceful. We’re protecting our kids, that’s all we’re doing, from these vile people.

“Take your uniform off and stand with us brother. What about your kids bruv?”

Sentencing, Judge Patrick Field KC told Miller that the asylum seekers were ‘vulnerable people’ who ‘probably deserved a bit of empathy from you rather than vile abuse’.

“The words you used not only displayed your own lack of tolerance, but an extraordinary level of ignorance too,” he said. Miller was jailed for 15 months after pleading guilty to violent disorder.

His barrister claimed Miller had been ‘failed rather spectacularly by the state’ while in care as a child, and said he had suffered mental health issues. Sarah Magill said Miller has a six-month-old baby, and that his partner is without him following his ‘incredibly stupid’ actions.

Two others who attended the protest were sentenced in separate hearings on Friday. The judge said that Conor Grange, 30, behaved ‘aggressively’ and his presence provided ‘encouragement’ to others. His barrister David Toal said Grange, of Church Street, Failsworth has a job and a family, and added that his month-long spell in prison on remand had provided a ‘short, sharp shock’.

He was sentenced to 16 months in prison suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work. Regan Goodwin was seen picking up a brick, but he did not launch it and instead threw it to the ground.

The judge said he was an ‘active participant’ and at one stage appeared ‘rather pleased with yourself’. “One suspects you are not in quite such a self congratulatory mood now,” the judge added. His barrister Rob Kearney said Goodwin has a job and a young child with his partner.

“His mother and his partner don’t share the defendant’s sentiments, and have a particular view about his behaviour that day,” Mr Kearney said. Goodwin, 24, of Kennington Avenue, Newton Heath, was jailed for 12 months. Goodwin and Grange both pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

Manchester Evening News

What on earth brought on this?’: Mum-of-two loses job following ‘appalling and deplorable’ scenes

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October 20, 2024
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Lindsay Keenan, 50, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment

A mother lost her job after launching a volley of ‘deeply hurtful and racist language’.

Lindsay Keenan, 50, from Middleton, was heard shouting ‘f*** off back to your own country’ during the large scale disorder in Manchester city centre last month. A far-right demonstration was held in Piccadilly Gardens, with protestors being met by counter protestors.

Manchester Crown Court heard a witness present at the incident saw and heard mum-of-two Keenan launch the racist abuse. He later went home and watched footage on TikTok from the disorder.

“He says he saw what he believed to be the same person using similar abuse towards two Asian females,” prosecutor Duncan Wilcock said. The man then alerted police to the footage. Keenan was identified and was arrested.

She told police: “Well what about the other woman, has she been arrested too?” Keenan, of Glen Grove, Middleton, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

Keenan has since lost her job and has her good character, after previously being unknown to the courts. “After 50 years of blameless behaviour, you find yourself sitting in the dock of a crown court, faced with a potential custodial sentence,” Judge Patrick Field KC told her.

“I expect that at some point you have asked yourself, ‘what on earth brought on this?’ I will tell you what brought you to it immediately. That was the fact that on August 3 this year, you committed an offence of racially aggravated disorderly behaviour.

“It was an ugly and intimidating incident. Your behaviour was appalling and deplorable.

“I suspect that if in a quieter moment before August 3, somebody had asked you whether you were ever likely to behave like this, you would have said no.”

The judge said Keenan was seen and heard ‘telling people with darker skin than you or I ‘f*** off back to your own country’. He continued: “This was deeply hurtful and racist language. Very few of us, looking around the courtroom, will have experienced anything like being on the wrong end of that sort of language.

“Very few of us will have any insight into what inevitably is a deeply dehumanising effect of such language. But that is why we regard it as such a serious offence.”

Defending, Emma Clarke said: “In hindsight she knows she never should have acted in the way that she did. She is a complete stranger to the criminal justice system.

“She is utterly disappointed at the fact that her emotions in that moment got the better of her and caused her to lose her good character at the age of 50. She is a devoted, hard working mother and partner.

“She has never been without a job up until now. She is the sole provider for the family.” Ms Clarke said that Keenan has ‘learnt a very stern lesson’.

Judge Field sentenced Keenan to four months in prison, suspended for 12 months. She was ordered to attend the women’s problem solving court, and attend 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

“You have a notable work record,” the judge told Keenan. “I appreciate you have lost your job as a result of this.

“That I am sure, within anything that I have got to say, brought home how grave this is. You have received a merciful sentence. You make sure you don’t come back to my court.”

Manchester Evening News

Business owner went to the pub to celebrate – then took his balaclava off

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October 20, 2024
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Ryan Leckey, 24, was jailed after pleading guilty to violent disorder

A balaclava-wearing thug who carried a box of beers to a large-scale disturbance outside a hotel believed to be housing asylum seekers has been jailed.

Ryan Leckey, 24, joined a mass demonstration outside the hotel on Oldham Road, in Newton Heath, on July 31 this year. He was seen to throw a missile towards the hotel whilst others hurled abuse at the occupants and the police.

Afterwards, he went to celebrate in a pub nearby before he was caught on CCTV taking his balaclava off, Manchester Crown Court heard.

At the same incident, 42-year-old Darren Butler threatened one officer that he would ‘kick your f***ing head’ in before shouting: “They are protecting nonce’s.”

Both were jailed today, September 18, after admitting violent disorder. Disorder spread across the country last month after misinformation spouted online about the killing of three children in Southport.

Prosecuting, Kate Gaskell said police were deployed to the hotel after reporting of a large crowd forming. Racist abuse was hurled as missiles, including eggs, bottles and bricks, were thrown, she said.

Leckey, of Newton Heath, was caught on bodycam walking down the road carrying a large box of beer over his shoulder.

“He was seen picking something up and throwing it, directing it towards the hotel,” Ms Gaskell said. “He was then seen to move off to a local pub and celebrated his actions before taking off his balaclava.”

Mitigating for Leckey, who had no previous convictions, Rebecca Filletti said her client was ‘extremely sorry’.

“He is sorry to the people there, sorry to the victims of this, sorry to the police and sorry to his family,” she said. “He has asked me to tell the court he is ashamed of his behaviour that day and said his family have worked too hard to see him in this situation.”

The court heard that Leckey’s parents were on holiday at the time but had previously expressed concern about his peers. The business owner, who runs his own shoe cobbling company, said he joined a group of friends during the incident.

Butler, of Oldham, was captured on the footage approaching officers who were trying to move the crowd away, with a number of others.

“He could be heard to shout: “I will kick your f***ing head in”. He also shouted: “They are protecting nonce’s”, the prosecutor added.

After the footage of the incident was played to the court, Butler, who appeared over videolink from HMP Dovegate, said: “I am disgusted with myself.” When he was arrested he told officers that he was an ‘idiot’ for going to the riot.

Joshua Bowker, representing Butler, said his client was there for a short period of time and did not take any weapons or throw any missiles. “His involvement is the words said and his demeanour,” the barrister added.

“He suggests he attended out of intrigue and is very regretful.” He said that Butler, who has 25 previous convictions for 52 offences, was last before the courts in 2018.

Sentencing them, Judge Alan Conrad KC said that following the disorder against innocent people: “The courts must make clear, and will keep making clear, that for this sort of behaviour in a civil society, only serious punishment will follow. Deterrent sentences are necessary.”

Leckey, of Lightbowne Road, Newton Heath, was jailed for 16 months. Butler, of Cattlin Way, Oldham, was jailed for 17 months. Both will serve half of their terms in prison before being released on licence.

Manchester Evening News

Barrister claims disorder outside hotel housing asylum seekers was ‘less about racism’ and ‘more about’ anti-government sentiment

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October 20, 2024
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Violence that erupted in Newton Heath after Southport stabbings was ‘less about racism’ and ‘more about a general feeling about the government’, a defence barrister has claimed

A barrister claimed violent disorder that erupted outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in north Manchester was ‘less about racism’ and was ‘more about’ anti-government feeling.

The comments were made during the sentencing of a balaclava-wearing thug who was part of a ‘mob’ who attacked a bus in Newton Heath. Kemmy Grange, 20, was part of the disorder that took place outside a Holiday Inn on Oldham Road on July 31 during a wave of violence that swept the country following the deaths of three young girls in Southport.

Manchester Crown Court heard the Newton Heath protest on July 31 was organised via Facebook in a post that read ‘Let’s get them out. 6pm today,’ followed by three clenched fist emojis and a St George’s flag.

During the disorder racist chants were heard, bricks and bottles were hurled at police and the hotel and a passing bus was attacked. A resident of the hotel, which was housing families and children among others, was injured after he was hit by flying glass.

During mitigation, defence barrister Richard Dawson said: “This was less about racism and more about a general feeling in the community about how the government was managing this community and immigration into this community.”

Judge John Potter replied: “Are you seriously telling me this was some kind of anti-government protest? I completely disagree. Racist chants were made towards the Holiday Inn and the bus. Nobody stood up and said ‘let’s get this government out’.”

Mr Dawson replied: “This individual was not there because of any underlying racist characteristics.” While the violence was ongoing Grange was captured on CCTV riding a bike on nearby Fletcher Street where he was seen to stop and pocket some ‘debris’ he picked up from the floor.

The court was shown CCTV footage from the number 83 bus, in which Grange could be seen wearing a balaclava, black top and black shorts attempting to ‘impede’ the vehicle. During the CCTV the windscreen was smashed, and shouts of ‘Take the bus’ could be heard.

The driver, who was injured after being assaulted through a side window, can be heard asking if the passengers are alright before telling them to get off the bus and ‘go to the police quickly’.

In a victim impact statement the driver said the attack had left him ‘stressed’ and ‘scared’. He was praised by Judge Potter for his ‘commendable bravery’.

Police footage was also shown to the court showing Grange among a group of males who could be seen hurling bricks and other missiles towards officers, although it was accepted the defendant hadn’t thrown anything. Grange was later identified by police after being caught on camera outside a pub without a face covering.

He was arrested at a house in Moston where police found £200 of cannabis in a kitchen cupboard.

Mr Dawson defending, said Grange had an ‘undiagnosed neurological disorder’ and was a ‘young man who had a somewhat troubled upbringing’. He added: “Plainly this was a disgraceful and highly inappropriate course of conduct. He is deeply ashamed and offers a sincere apology.”

Grange, of Elysian Street, Openshaw, admitted violent disorder and possession of a class B drug. Appearing via video link from Forest Bank prison in Salford he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and given a five year criminal behaviour order.

Judge Potter said the violent disorder in Newton Heath was ‘organised via lies and racist comments spread on Facebook’. The judge told Grange he ‘took part in the attack’ on the bus and was seen to ‘impede’ the vehicle ‘in an attempt by the mob to make it stop, no doubt the intention being those on board should be attacked’.

Judge Potter said while he accepted Grange had not thrown any missiles his presence at the disorder ‘was designed to encourage such lawless behaviour’.
Manchester Evening News

Topless thug tried to hide his face during Piccadilly riots… it didn’t work

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October 20, 2024
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Lee Upton is the latest to be jailed

A topless thug punched a man before behaving in a ‘loutish’ manner during large-scale disorder in Piccadilly Gardens.

Lee Upton, 54, is the latest to be jailed for his part in the trouble that broke out in the city centre on August 3 when a far-right demonstration was held, with counter-protestors also attending. Upton was caught on camera punching a man while a ‘heated debate’ was ongoing between the two sides.

He was pushed away then began to loiter at the back of the crowds. Manchester Crown Court heard that he then moved down Mosley Street, where thugs were attacking the front of a vape shop, and a Sainsbury’s store was looted.

Upton, who was not involved in either incident, was seen on footage shirtless, having wrapped his T-shirt around the lower part of his face. In the footage he is seen to make a gesture as if he were holding an ‘imaginary rifle’, prosecutor Philip Hall said.

Mr Hall claimed that Upton made a ‘Nazi salute’. Upton’s lawyer said he denied this, and the judge said he was not sure that he had done so.

Upton was later arrested after being spotted by police in Altrincham town centre. “You were part of an unruly, threatening and on occasion violent mob that congregated in Piccadilly Gardens and then moved along Mosley Street,” Judge Patrick Field KC told Upton.

“You were seen to strike a blow with your fist to the face of a man who was arguing with others as two opposing groups came together. It is perhaps in your favour that that blow didn’t lead to widespread violence at that point.

“That perhaps says more about your victim and the people around him, than it says about you. This was on any view nasty, unpleasant and loutish behaviour, but I have to acknowledge that it is significantly less serious than other behaviour that I have seen displayed in respect of that day.”

Prosecutors pointed to the fact that he covered part of his face with his T-shirt. “It was an incompetent attempt to avoid detection,” the judge said.

Upton, who has 62 previous offences on his record, was sentenced to 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to violent disorder. Defending, Laura Broome said Upton takes ‘full responsibility’ for his behaviour and is ‘ashamed’ of his actions.

She said Upton became homeless following the death of his mother, and that he sleeps on the streets or sometimes at a hotel. Upton, of Bailey Lane, Wythenshawe, was also handed a criminal behaviour order banning him from a certain area of Manchester city centre, which will last for three years.

Manchester Evening News

Disgraced Dundee ‘street angel’ Gareth Norman jailed for raping girl when he was a teenager

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October 19, 2024
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Gareth Norman “accepted no responsibility and no remorse” after being convicted by a jury of historic sexual offences last month

A “remorseless” disgraced Dundee charity champion has been jailed for four-and-a-half years after being convicted of attacking girls when he was a child.

61-year-old Gareth Norman raped a seven-year-old girl between 1975 and 1977 in a caravan in Dumfries.

He was also found guilty of molesting another young girl, aged 12 when the abuse began, at an address in Dundee between 1975 and 1978.

Norman, of Spence Place in Dundee, acted as the head of the city’s now defunct Night Ministry.

He was well-known for his work as a “street angel” distributing food and vital supplies to the city’s homeless population.

He previously held volunteer positions with the Royal Navy Reserve and as a first aider with the British Red Cross.

After a trial last month, Norman was convicted and remanded ahead of Thursday’s sentencing.

Following the preparation of background reports, father-of-five Norman was jailed and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Child at time of offences

He appeared at the High Court in Dundee via a video link from HMP Perth.

Solicitor advocate Iain Paterson stressed his client was a child at the time of the offending.

He said: “Mr Norman was convicted in relation to charges one, two, five and seven.

“In relation to the charges, charge one is a crime of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour on various occasions.

“There was an amendment to the date.

“The accused therefore would have been between 13 and 17 in relation to that charge.

“Charge two is the most serious of the charges, which was a single occasion.

“The accused would have been between the age of 13 and 15.

“Obviously, he was a child at the time of all of the offences.

“The complainers were between seven and 11 in charge one, eight and nine in charge two, 12 in charge five and 13 to 14 in charge seven.”
Low risk of re-offending

Turning to background reports, Mr Paterson said: “He’s assessed as low risk, effectively.

“In the intervening period, there were no other offences that have been committed.

“These are the only matters that he has ever been convicted of in his life.

“In my submission, the basis of any sentencing is punishment.

“There’s no issue of protection of the public.”

‘No remorse’

During the week-long trial, the High Court In Dundee heard evidence the rape victim’s character changed after her ordeal, becoming shy and withdrawn around her parents and family.

Judge Lady Drummond said: “I’ve read a victim impact statement from one of the girls and it’s clear to me from that your behaviour has had a lifelong and harmful effect on her.

“You are now aged 61, you have no previous convictions, you’ve been in employment most of your life.

“You’re assessed as a low risk of sexual reconviction and reoffending.

“You’ve accepted no responsibility and no remorse.

“For offences of this gravity, the only sentence that is appropriate is imprisonment.”

Reformed character after BNP past

Norman acted as the head of the Night Ministry in Dundee and also helped with the Coastwatch safety scheme.

Described in court as an “active member of the community”, the security guard had built a reputation as a born-again Christian in the city.

He had previously worked as an organiser for the British National Party, before standing as a candidate for Solidarity — the nationalist organisation set-up by convicted perjurer Tommy Sheridan.

The Courier

Ex-UKIP candidate convicted for downloading child sex abuse photos

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October 19, 2024
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A former UKIP Party candidate has admitted downloading images of children being sexually abused.

Jason Rutter, 49, from Bromsgrove, pleaded guilty to five counts of making indecent images of children after police found evidence of the indecent photos at his home in November 2016.

He is no longer a member of UKIP, a party spokesman confirmed.

Rutter was given an 11-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, at Worcester Crown Court yesterday and ordered to pay court costs of £1200.

The judge also ruled that his computers must be destroyed. He will now be registered as a sex offender for 10 years.

The sentencing came more than three years after police received information that indecent photographs of children had been downloaded at an address in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

They searched the property and seized several items from Rutter’s room.

He was not present at the time of the search, but detectives made contact with him shortly afterwards, the Criminal Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

He agreed to hand himself in and went willingly to Worcester Police Station on November 16, 2016, bringing a mobile phone and a laptop with him.

Police said he had attempted to forensically delete evidence of child abuse off the devices before arriving at the station.

However, investigators were still able to uncover harrowing images of children subjected to sexual acts.

Dawn Cartwright of the CPS said: “Rutter has received a criminal conviction for downloading these sickening images of vulnerable children.

“He will now be registered as a sex offender for 10 years and will be made subject of a device only sexual harm prevention order for 10 years which means he must not delete his internet history or use the internet or social media to communicate with any person under the age of 16.”

Interim UKIP chairman Ben Walker told the Standard: “The party is pleased that Mr Rutter has been caught and convicted for this disgusting crime.”

“The law should actually be tightened in such areas and UKIP would like to see much harsher sentencing for perpetrators of sexual crimes against children with much more support for victims and their families.

Mr Walker confirmed that Rutter left UKIP in January 2018 to set up a new branch of the far-right For Britain movement in Bromsgrove, using a considerable amount of his own money.

“He was previously vetted by the party in September 2016,” Mr Walker explained. “The party’s vetting process only searches social media profiles given to us by the candidates themselves and any information our own database may hold on the candidate in question. These processes are due to be reviewed.”

Evening Standard

Former Bury UKIP chairman jailed for grooming children and having 200,000 child porn images

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October 19, 2024
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A FORMER chairman of Bury’s UK Independence Party has been jailed for grooming children and possessing nearly 200,000 indecent images of children.

Peter Entwistle spoke to children on MSN Messenger and other social network sites in a sexualised manner, asking them to commit sexual acts for his own satisfaction, Bolton Crown Court heard today.

The 52-year-old named himself the ‘Naughty Doctor’, using an explicit picture of two women as his profile picture, and spoke to a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, who he believed was a girl.

In addition, when police officers raided his house in January 25 last year, they found thousands of indecent images of children stored on a number of computers, USB sticks and some which had been printed out.

Entwistle was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to 21 counts at an earlier hearing, including possessing and distributing indecent images of children as well as inciting and the attempted inciting of children to commit sexual acts.

He will be placed on the sexual offenders register for life, and would be subject to a sexual offences prevention order.

The court was told that Entwistle, of Broad Oak Lane, Bury, had one previous conviction of indecently exposing himself to a woman in the 1980s, but had otherwise had a clean record.

Iain Simkin, defending Entwistle, read out a letter to the court from Alistair Burt, who was the MP for Bury North from 1983 to 1997, which referenced his good character .

Judge Elliot Knopf added: “You are now 52-years-old, and you have, until these matters, led an exemplary life, which is attributed to by various letters I have received from people ranging from family, colleagues, the rector of churches and an MP.”

The court was also told that Entwistle was seeking treatment from a psychiatrist for depression.

He was a founder member of Bury UKIP in March 2011, and resigned as party chairman in January 2013.

Bury Times

Paedophile Aaron Knight was a campaigner for Nigel Farage’s Ukip in South Thanet

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October 19, 2024
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A paedophile locked up for seven years was a Ukip aide in South Thanet during the general and local council elections, it has been revealed.

Aaron Knight, 30, previously from Ramsgate, was campaigning for Nigel Farage’s party in 2014 at the same time he was committing sex crimes against a young boy.

He warned the child that the boy’s mother would tell him off if he were to tell anyone “their secret”.

Knight systematically groomed his young victim between September 2013 and October 2014.

Ukip spokesman Gawain Towler said: “He worked for four months on the council campaign in South Thanet in 2014.

“He was a campaigner for the borough and frankly he was lazy and let go.

“I am delighted justice has been done and thank God he has been put behind bars.

“This was an appalling thing for the family to go through and I am glad he was found guilty of this heinous crime.

Kent Online

Gang rape dad in BBQ fight

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October 19, 2024
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A DAD who brutally attacked his next-door neighbours after they asked his teenage son to leave a barbecue is today exposed as a convicted gang rapist.

Robert Bennett and his son David set upon Sarah and Gary Simister after a row over racist language.

Bennett, 64, a former BNP activist, was convicted of the gang rape of two 17-year-old girls in 1976 and jailed for five years.

He was in charge of dishing out leaflets for the BNP during the 2002 elections in Oldham.

His 19-year-old son had been invited to join the couple for a drink last June at their home in Staley Road, Mossley, Manchester Crown Court heard.

But the neighbourly gesture backfired when the summer barbecue descended into violence.

Prosecutor Charlotte Crangle said: “An argument erupted after David began using racist language.

“He was asked to leave but refused and threw a punch at Mr Simister before headbutting him.

“Mr Simister retaliated and the pair began fighting but it was quickly broken up and David ran home.”

Seconds later he reappeared with his father, Robert.

Mrs Simister was manhandled by the pair and her husband, who had gone upstairs to clean up, came racing down.

They threw him on a pile of rubble in the yard and began punching and kicking him until he curled up in a ball.

Mrs Simister tried to grab Robert Bennett but was punched and slapped. After a neighbour shouted she had phoned police the attack stopped and the pair fled.

Mr and Mrs Simister were treated for a broken finger and cuts and bruises.

Defending, Richard Vardon said: “Since the conviction in 1976 he has nothing of a violent nature on his record. Although it is extensive and at times troubling, one would hope the court will want to ignore that and deal with the merits of this case on its own.”

Anthony Longworth, defending David Bennett, said: “The offences were committed at a time of life he was finding difficult. He was drinking heavily after the breakdown of a relationship.”

After both men admitted affray on Tuesday, Miss Recorder Jones sentenced Robert Bennett to 150 hours unpaid work with £250 compensation. David Bennett was handed 250 hours unpaid work and told to pay £500 compensation.

Manchester Evening News