A TERRIFIED man has moved home because he no longer feels safe following a thuggish attack which left him with a broken rib and fractures to his vertebrae.
He had been pelted with an egg from a passing car as he walked home from the pub along Faiths Road in Alcester at around 11pm, and after he swung out at it when it returned, the occupants piled out and laid into him.
His attackers, Ryan Dean, Ire Steer, Matthew Harman and Kyle Conway, pleaded guilty to violent disorder when they appeared at Warwick Crown Court.
Dean, 21, of Eldorado Close, Studley, and Harman, 21,of Hadrians Walk, Alcester, were both sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for 12 months and ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work.
Steer, 19, of Newland Close, Woodrow, Redditch, who was only 17 at the time, was sentenced to nine months suspended for 12 months and ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work.
Conway, 21, of St Nicholas Close, Alcester, who had previous convictions for violence, including wounding and battery, was sentenced to 18 months suspended for 12 months and ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work.
All four defendants were ordered to pay £150 compensation to their victim, with Dean, Harman and Conway also ordered to pay £150 costs each.
Prosecutor Rebecca Austin said the attack happened in July 2016. One of the occupants of Dean’s Ford Fiesta threw an egg at the victim, hitting him on the shoulder.
The car drove off, but then did a U-turn, and as it drove back, the victim believed he was about to be targeted again and swung out ‘in a flailing motion with his jacket,’ but because of heavy items in the pocket, it broke one of the car windows.
The car stopped and the gang piled out and chased him into Meadow Road where they knocked him to the ground, and he was kicked and struck repeatedly with his own snooker cue.
The attack only stopped because of the bravery of a woman, who came out of her house and shouted at the gang.
Ian Speed, defending Dean, said although not at the first police interview, he had admitted his involvement.
Amrisha Parathalingham, for Steer, said he was only 17 at the time – and at his own request, Steer apologised from the dock to the victim.
Sophie Murray, for Conway, said custody “would take away all the good work he has achieved”, while Harman’s barrister argued there was an element of self-defence.
Judge Anthony Potter told the four: “He (the victim) certainly wasn’t provoking you, but one of you threw an egg at him. It was a provocative, thuggish gesture.
“It was only when a woman came out into the street to confront you that some sense seems to have taken effect. She deserves considerable praise for having the courage to do so. No-one knows what would have happened if she had not.”
