Teen thug used Gucci belt as whip

whipped him after declaring: “I’m going to hit you with my Gucci belt.”

Mr Mitchell fell to the ground, where he was kicked and punched in the jaw by other members of the group.

By this time, Mr Kilburn had also left the club, spotted the victim bleeding from the head and recognised Asad.

He asked the defendant what he was doing and Asad again declared: “I’ll hit you with my Gucci belt.”

The defendant also whipped him but again Mr Kilburn walked away.

Police were called to the scene and Asad ran into the graveyard of a nearby church before resisting arrest.

The incident, which took place on March 23, lasted around 10 minutes.

Mr Kilburn was left with a strap mark on his arm and some bleeding from the buckle, whereas Mr Mitchell had a one centimetre cut to his head, which was glued back together at hospital.

Asad, of Bentley Street, Lockwood, has six previous convictions for 13 offences, including possession of a knife and motoring offences, but has not yet served a custodial sentence.

After a trial date had already been set, he pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, one count of possession of an offensive weapon and one count of obstructing a constable in the execution of their duty.

The court heard that his family deplore his drunken behaviour and asked the judge to give him one more chance.

Christopher Moran, defending, admitted that it was “laddish, thuggish behaviour that we see too often with young men when out with a group of their peers.”

He added that his client has been very frustrated because he has been unable to find work and he has been getting in trouble in the last year since he started hanging around with a new group of people.

He also added that Asad has not had a drink since the incident.

Judge Simon Phillips QC said: “If you had caught one of them in the eye with the buckle, you could have blinded them or caused significant facial scarring.”

Advising Asad that he was “within a hair’s breadth of going to custody” and that he “should feel ashamed”, the judge sentenced him to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.

A community order from a previous sentencing was revoked and he was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Asad will not be spotted around town wearing his beloved accessory again as the judge also ordered forfeiture of the Gucci belt.