Celebrating football fans punched, kicked, glassed by pub ‘yobs’
‘UNPROVOKED GROUP VIOLENCE’
THREE football fans were attacked in a pub by yobs who glassed, punched and kicked them as violence spilled out on to the street.
Kiyia Gibbs, 30, suddenly reacted aggressively “like a switch being turned” when a bar stool was accidentally knocked over by one of three men celebrating Liverpool’s Champion’s League victory in the Ring O Bells pub, pictured, in Knightthorpe Road, Loughborough, on June 1, 2019.
He then smashed two glasses on to a victim’s head in quick succession.
David Diamond, 40, Oliver Turton, 29, and Timothy Bacon, 31, joined in and threw punches and directed kicks at the fans.
Gary Short, prosecuting, said the victims were: “Three Polish men, in good spirits, who were celebrating
Liverpool’s result and singing.”
He said “out-of-control” Gibbs jumped in the air before smashing the glasses down on to the victim.
The injured man needed stitches to wounds on his head, hand and arm. He now feels wary and uneasy in public places.
His friend, who was knocked to the ground and beaten up outside the pub, suffered a fractured eye socket and nose and the third victim suffered swelling to his left eye and scalp.
Mr Short said: “This was serious unprovoked and sustained group violence.”
Judge Robert Brown said: “They were all acting like yobs.”
Gibbs, of no fixed address, Diamond, of Shelley Street, Loughborough, Turton, of Bates Close, Loughborough, and Bacon, of Kime Court, Windthorpe, Skegness, each admitted two counts of violent disorder, relating to events inside and outside the pub.
Sentencing, the judge said: “This was an ugly incident that would have been frightening for anyone in the pub or had the misfortune to witness it – worse still to be the victim of it.
“You got stuck into these three men and continued outside.
“Gibbs, you were the prime mover and used the most violence and were the most persistent, with the repeated use of glasses.”
He said Gibbs and Diamond both had shocking criminal records, including previous convictions for affray.
Judge Brown said Bacon and Turton played a lesser role.
Marie Spenwyn, mitigating for Gibbs, said a witness described a female bar worker saying she had had enough of the complainants when the stool was tipped over.
Gibbs then went to speak to one of the men, resulting in pushing and shoving and one of them throwing a punch at Gibbs, she claimed.
Judge Brown said: “Whatever happened to trigger the violence, he used a glass to someone’s head and rearmed himself with another and did it more than once. There can be no justification for that.”
Miss Spenwyn said: “My client says he didn’t start the violence.”
Gibbs addressed the judge, from the dock, saying he was suffering from poor mental health at the time.
Stephen Sweeney, for Diamond, said his client did not use a glass or weapon.
He said references spoke highly of Diamond and he had since made good progress to better himself.
Jonathan Dunne, for Bacon, said his client was a hard-working builder and part-time bar worker, with a partner and child to support and had since “got his life in order”.
James Doyle, representing Turton, a self-employed contract worker for a glazing firm, said: “The whole incident arose spontaneously, when Mr Turton was in the other room, and he was on the periphery of events and the least involved.
“He tried to take someone off Gibbs, who was attacking Gibbs, and there was no violence from Mr Turton outside, although there was some squaring up.”
Judge Brown replied: “This was a joint enterprise and they were all in it together.”
Gibbs was jailed for two years and five months.
Diamond was jailed for 19 months. Turton was given a 14-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.
Bacon was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
Turton and Bacon were each ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and both were told to pay £750 in compensation, to be shared equally between the three victims.