Thugs kicked man's head "like a football" during Castleford park attack

Stuart Bellwood, 21, and Harry White, 19, launched the unprovoked attack on the man as he sat in Smawthorne Park in Castleford.

Prosecuting the case at Leeds Crown Court, Chloe Fairley said the victim had been sat talking to another friend in the park on June 24, 2019 when the two defendants approached them.

White knew the victim as he had been in a relationship with White's aunt.

Miss Fairley said that "out of the blue", White started hitting the victim and shouting "this is for my aunt".

Someone was then heard to shout "get his keys" as they began kicking him in the head.

A resident saw the attack and jumped over his fence into the park to confront the pair, who fled taking the stricken victim's bike with them.

The man later described the attackers as kicking the victim's head "like a football".

The victim was taken to hospital where he suffered cuts and bruising to his face.

When White was arrested he told police he had problems with his memory but denied being involved with the robbery.

They both admitted charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) and taking a vehicle without consent.

The court was told that Bellwood, of Borrowdale Drive, Castleford, has over 20 convictions for 52 offences, including multiple thefts and ABH.

Andrea Parnham, mitigating for Bellwood, said he had a "unattractive record for a man so young" which she says stemmed from an unstable childhood in which he was moved to various homes.

She added: "His issues are with alcohol. When sober, he is an affable young man, but when he drinks, it does him no favours at all."

She said he now has a partner and a young son, and is keen to move on with his life after he jail term ends.

He is already in custody serving time for another offence.

Meanwhile, a stand-down review into White, of Redhill avenue, Castleford, found that he suffered from severe mental health issues, but admitted he should have walked away from the situation.

White had three convictions for four offences, including a serious assault.

Mitigating, Rukhshanda Hussain, told the court: "There was a history is issues between the defendant and complainant. There's no excuse whatsoever for his behaviour but he acted out of frustration."

She added that he was now determined to get onto the "straight and narrow", and had a job waiting for him.

Judge Christopher Batty described it an "absolutely awful assault" and was due to sentence the pair last week, but told them he needed more time to think.

Addressing White this morning, he told he would not send him into custody, and said: "Your case has caused me all manner of issues in terms of the right thing to do.

"I won't send you to custody, the reason is that you are at a point that you have behaved like a childish fool enough times.

"But you have realised that, and have taken steps to put things right."

He gave him a 10-month jail term, suspended for two years and ordered him to pay £500 compensation to the victim.

Bellwood was given eight months' jail, to run concurrently with the current sentence he is serving.