A father and son were spared jail after a vicious attack outside an Oldham pub left their victim with a fractured nose and feeling like ‘a prisoner in his own home’.
Carl Fagan, 51, and son Daniel, 19, became embroiled in a spat with Carl Lees, who was known to the Fagan family.
The argument descended into a fight outside the Dog Inn in Chadderton shortly before 11pm on May 4 last year.
CCTV footage of the five-minute-long incident showed Mr Lees repeatedly punched and kicked in the head while lying ‘defenceless’ on the ground, which was shown at Minshull Street Crown Court yesterday.
As well as suffering severe bruising and swelling to his face, he required surgery to repair his damaged nose.
The prosecution told the court: “Mr Lees says he feels like a prisoner in his own home and can’t go out in Chadderton like he used to because the defendants socialise in the area.”
After pleading guilty, both were handed 12-month sentences suspended for two years, and each face 150 hours of unpaid work, as well as compensation payments to Mr Lees totalling £2,500 and £600 towards prosecution costs.
Mr Recorder SJ Hilton also issued a restraining order preventing them from contacting Mr Lees or going within 50m of him or his home, and from entering the Dog Inn.
The judge noted that while there may have been provocation, the assault ‘went well beyond what could be regarded as a fair reaction’.
He said of Fagan Sr: “The sentence is suspended because you have lived a trouble-free life and the offence is out of character.
“You are also in regular work which would be in peril if you were sent to prison immediately.”
He added that while his son’s offence was worse, and could have been far more serious had he not been restrained, it would be unjust to send him to prison when his father was not.
The defence described the incident as a one-off attack, which happened after something said in the pub’s toilets led Fagan Jr to believe an attack on his father was imminent.
Both men had no previous convictions, though the 19-year-old labourer was cautioned in 2013 for common assault, while his father, a bricklayer, was cautioned for criminal damage in 2004.
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