Four men jailed for what the judge describes as 'cretinous violence’ in Leamington's town centre

All four were given immediate prison sentences by Judge Peter Cooke at Warwick Crown Court after they had pleaded guilty to their parts in an affray outside Altoria night club in Warwick Street, Leamington.

Jake Cook (24) of Sandpits Lane, Coventry, who had also admitted offences of burglary, assault, assaulting an emergency worker, damage and theft was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Michael Neary (27) of Fillongley Road, Solihull, and Daniel Aspinall (27) of Raphael Close, Coventry, were both jailed for 20 months, and Shane MacPherson (31) of no fixed address, was jailed for 15 months.

Prosecutor Andrew Wilkins said that on a Saturday night in November 2018 MacPherson exchanged words with another man outside the Altoria night club in Warwick Street, Leamington.

McPherson then swung a punch at him, knocking him unconscious on the ground, and a fight broke out in which all four defendants were involved and a second man was attacked.

They then swaggered away into the road before spotting a third man walking along Tavistock Street.

After MacPherson threated that he was ‘going to get it,’ the four of them surrounded him and he was punched a number of times before a police car arrived on the scene.

Mr Wilkins said the previous night MacPherson had been involved in an incident in Solihull for which he was jailed for 20 months in March last year for inflicting grievous bodily harm.

He also had other convictions for violence, while Aspinall had convictions for wounding or causing grievous bodily with intent and robbery, Neary had convictions for battery and attempted robbery, and Cook had convictions for 76 offences, mostly of dishonesty.

The details of their records prompted the judge to refer to them as ‘four a Britain’s finest.’

And after watching CCTV recordings of the affray, Judge Cooke pulled no punches as he told them: “This affray represents the sort of cretinous violence that mars our towns and cities.

“Even generally pleasant and agreeable towns like Solihull and Leamington turn on Friday and Saturday nights into places where decent people have to think twice before venturing into for fear of encountering yobs in mobs, off their heads on too much alcohol, and often illegal drugs too, cocaine in this case.

“Once the members of such an intoxicated mob have their blood up, often in response to something trivial, all hell is likely to break loose. That is exactly what we saw on the footage of your behaviour.

“This affray happened in two phases. Phase one was a gratuitous attack on two young men, both of whom sustained injuries and one of whom was knocked unconscious.

“While he was being tended to, you sauntered off into the road to engage in some idiotic swaggering and posturing, as is fairly standard for episodes like this.

“Phase two commenced the moment you spied that coming along the street was someone one of you didn’t like. That was enough to set you off on another mob attack.

“All of this constituted a gross episode of public disorder in a highly public place, one of Leamington’s busiest town centre roads.

“As your antecedents were being dealt with I referred to you sarcastically as four of Britain’s finest, because even though relatively young men, you’ve each demonstrated you are just the sort of people who might be predicted to behave in this fashion.

“On behalf of two of you it has been submitted that I could, and should, deal with your offending by way of suspended sentences. Those submissions were unrealistically optimistic.

“You don’t come into my court for an offence like this, with antecedents like yours, and walk out via the public entrance - you go to prison.”

Outlining the other offences Cook had admitted, Mr Wilkins said that in April last year the police had been called to an incident at an address in Coventry, and when he was arrested Cook spat in one officer’s face and racially abused another as he threatened them with violence.

At the end of that month he approached a man who was using a cash machine in Dunsmore Avenue, Coventry, punching him in the mouth when he refused to give him a cigarette.

Then on September 7 a woman was in her home in Berners Close, Tile Hill, when she saw the door open and Cook inside, and she shouted at him: “What the hell are you doing?”

Cook told her to ‘shut the f*** up,’ and took the keys to her Peugeot 407 which he then stole from outside.

The same month he carried out two thefts from the Spar store in Tile Hill, and following his arrest he assaulted a female police officer and spat all over the driver’s seat and steering wheel of the police car, Mr Wilkins added.