Two sent down for GBH

TWO Oldham men involved in drunken attack on a man outside a town-centre pub have been sent to a young offenders’ institution for 10 months.

Andrew Long and James Rollinson, both 20, beat Ben Saggerson so badly he had to have surgery to insert metal plates in his cheeks to repair bone fractures.

Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court was told that the incident on May 2 last year, followed a row inside the Abbey Inn, involving a friend of the pair and a member of the bar staff.

The three were asked to leave, then they waited half an hour for Mr Saggerson to come out.

The victim was punched and fell to the floor. He was then punched and kicked as he lay helpless.

Long of Redgrave Street, Greenacres, admitted hitting him in the face over an offensive remark made to a female in their company.

Rollinson, of Glen View, Royton, admitted pushing him to the floor and kneeing him in the head.

Mark Fireman, for Rollinson, said his client should simply have walked away from trouble, but had not done so.

He said Mr Saggerson didn’t deserve what had happened to him but had been acting in a “rude, arrogant and aggressive manner” on the night and appeared to have been spoiling for a fight.

Alison Heyworth for Long, said her client threw one punch “in drink” — an impulsive act caused by his irritation at Mr Saggerson’s behaviour.

She said Long, who has a 15-month old child, bitterly regretted what he had done.

The two men pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm. Judge Stephen Lowcock told them: “This was exactly the sort of behaviour that makes law-abiding people think twice about going for a drink in a town centre pub at night.”