Sponsored by
Two yobs locked up for violent nightclub brawl
Joshua Price, jailed for 18 months over an assault outside the Escapade nightclub in Barnsley.
TWO young thugs who broke a man’s neck during a brawl outside a South Yorkshire club have been locked up for 18 months.
Joshua Price, aged 21, and Brendan Kneafsey, 22, attacked Nicholas Sellaway on Wellington Street, Barnsley, near the Escapade nightclub, knocking him to the ground unconscious.
Sheffield Crown Court heard they broke his jaw and one of the bouncers initially thought he had been killed.
Trouble flared outside Escapade at around midnight on October 15 last year.
Judge Simon Lawler QC said Kneafsey was hurt during the fighting, and that he and Price were caught on CCTV moving down the street, pursuing the people they thought were the culprits.
“You, Kneafsey, can clearly be seen running to catch up with the action,” Judge Lawler told them.
“You both then set about Mr Sellaway. It’s clear from the CCTV that both of you rained quite severe blows towards his head and upper body.
“He was knocked to the floor and was unconscious. Indeed, one of the bouncers thought he was dead.”
The judge said Mr Sellaway’s injuries were ‘serious indeed’.
He suffered a neck fracture, had plates inserted in his jaw under general anaesthetic, and was left with three loose back teeth.
He had to wear a neck brace for three months following the attack.
Richard Barradell, defending Price, said: “He bitterly regrets his actions. He went and got himself involved in something that was none of his business. This is totally out of character. He is not a violent man.”
Rebecca Stevens, defending Kneafsey, said: “He says it was the biggest mistake of his life.”
The pair, both from Castleford in West Yorkshire, admitted wounding.
Sentencing them, Judge Lawler said: “I accept there was a degree of provocation but there doesn’t seem to be a substantial degree.
“It was spontaneous violence and you had both clearly taken too much to drink.
“This is serious violence in a group situation in a public place.
“I’m afraid only a custodial sentence is appropriate.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
