Thugs’ ‘brutal, sustained’ street attack on stranger

TWO Nottingham men who carried out what police called “a brutal, sustained and motiveless attack” on a total stranger in Arnold handed themselves in after a photograph of them was shared as a media appeal.

Nottingham Crown Court heard how during the assault, Jonathan Cropley and David Fryer repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped on their victim as he lay defenceless on the ground.

Shocking CCTV footage of the incident, which took place in Front Street, at around midnight on April 16, 2023, showed the victim using a cash machine before being approached by his attackers. After a brief conversation the man, aged in his 30s, was punched to the ground by Fryer before being repeatedly and savagely attacked by Cropley.

The two men, who had both been drinking before the assault, then casually walked away from the scene, leaving their victim unconscious on the ground.

Detectives found clear video of the attack recorded on CCTV. From that, they were then able to trace both suspects back to a local bar where their faces could clearly be seen.

A public appeal was then issued on Nottinghamshire Police’s website and social media channels, which led to both men handing themselves in. Each made no comment to officers during their interviews and a motive for the attack was never established.

Cropley, aged 44, of Wordsworth Road, Daybrook, and Fryer, aged 59, of High Street, Arnold, both pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

At a hearing last week, both were both given 20-month prison sentences suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

Following the sentencing, PC Emma White, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was an appalling and sustained attack on a man who was simply enjoying a night out in his local community at the time. Fryer and Cropley subjected him to a vicious and prolonged assault – most of which took place with their victim slumped defenceless on the floor.”